


Little Darling

by clairesmh



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: AU, Angst Free, Coach tessa, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Smut, Fluffy, Scott is a former hockey player, Tessa is a single skater, daddy scott
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-05-23 14:05:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 59,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14935712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clairesmh/pseuds/clairesmh
Summary: Tessa didn't do relationships. But she also didn't expect to have a sweet 4 years old girl entering her life to fill it with incredible joy. Only now she had to deal with her father too, and this warm fuzzy feeling she got every time he was around.





	1. Daddy, you're late

**Author's Note:**

> Looks like I need my RomCom fic to write from time to time. This should be a light and fluffy one and I hope you enjoy it.

"Come on!" The light is green idiot!" Scott yelled, pressing his hand with full force in the horn, again and again, the black sedan in front of him still not moving. He kept one eye on the road and another in the clock over the panel.

He was so late. She was going to be so mad at him.

The weather was miserable, with the rain crashing continuously against his windshield, making it was quite difficult to see the road in front of him. September just rolled in and it already reminded him why he hated any season other than Summer.

His first instinct was to step on the gas pedal to zap through the streets the minute his path cleared but he actually had to get to her in one piece so he preferred to stick to the speed limit. Besides, with his luck, the chances of getting a speed ticket was quite big and unless the police officer was a die-hard Maple Leafs fan and had a soft spot for the former player, Scott Moir, no way he could get away with it. His chances would double if it was a woman, he knew how to deal with them.

Scott looked at the clock again, 8:04. He was more than one hour late, and it was all the weather’s fault. And his Publicist's. The meeting he had with Nike was supposed to be two hours earlier and he would have rescheduled if he hadn’t done it three times already, a fourth would undoubtedly cause some damage in his contract for the next season campaign.

When he turned in a corner and saw the McCormick Arena sign, he was just glad he had made it, finally.  
_____

The rink had a couple of young girls doing their twirls on the ice to a song he was not really familiar with. Standing close to the boards he ran his eyes over the place, looking for her until he heard her sweet little voice and his favourite word, “Daddy!”  
Scott turned around just in time to catch the little girl mid-air "Hi, baby."

He buried his nose in her dark waves and took in the feeling of having his arms tightly wrapped around her. If his mood was cranky minutes ago, it all fell back into place when he held her.

"You're late again. Ms virtue is not happy about it." Charlotte - Charlie - Moir whispered in a conspiracy tone close to his ear. In her four years old of vast experience, she felt like it was her duty to warn her father about her teacher's mood.

 _The_  Miss Virtue. His daughter couldn't stop talking about her. He didn't know the woman, but his mom said she was a great skater and Charlie would be good with her. He trusted his mom judgement about it; the love she had for his daughter was a blessing to both of them.

Besides, the way his mother talked, he was convinced this Miss Virtue probably was one of her coaching colleagues, he assumed it was like Charlie would have a version of Grandma Alma teaching her.

"I promise it was the last time," Scott whispered back in the same tone.

"Sure." She rolled her hazel-green eyes to him.

"Hey missy, attitude!" He started tickling her stomach to hear the most precious laughter in the world. It would never fail to make him smile, no matter how hard his day had been.

He could see she was a bit tired, the way her head dropped on his shoulder and how she was fiding the collar of his shirt were pretty good hints of it. Scott felt a pang of guilt for being so late; Charlie should already be home, getting ready for bed.

"I'm really sorry, baby," He spoke softly, kissing her deep brown hair. The baby smell was long gone, but the sweet strawberry perfume of her hair still brought a sense of peace and comfort to him every time.

"It's okay dad; you're here."

He heard a very delicate throating clearing and looked up to find a brunette woman standing there. And Charlie rose her head from the crook of his neck, excited to see her.

"Look, Miss Virtue! Daddy is here."

Miss Virtue? Where was the 60-something lady he had pictures? Scott thought, blinking at the sight of a beautiful woman in tight jeans and a form-fitting red sweater. She wore ballet flats and a stylish printed scarf around her neck under the cascade of brown hair. She had green eyes, he noticed, gorgeous green eyes.

"I can see it, sweetie." She smiled at his daughter with real affection, but when she turned to him, the softness was long gone. She squinted her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest; the always trouble boy in him felt the lecture coming.

"Charlie, can you get your things so we can leave?"

"Ok!" He put her on the floor, and the girl ran away to gather her backpack.

"Mr Moir, I'm Tessa Virtue, your daughter's skating teacher” The woman stuck a hand out to greet him, being very polite, and he grabbed her hand in the same tone.

"Scott Moir, a pleasure." He tried to charm his way out of a lecture with a signature crooked smile, but she didn't even blink.

Her face was very familiar. Scott saw it during the Winter Olympics Games in the year before, and he might have come across that same pointy nose, and daring chin-up expression in an outdoor or a magazine spread. And now he was feeling a bit dumb for not realising that Tessa Virtue and Ms Virtue was the same person.

"I need to inform you that Charlie's class goes until 6:30 and we have a 30 minutes tolerance. It's the third time in two weeks that she's here way past the time." Ms Tessa was really not happy, her voice was rigid, and she was almost snarling at him. "If it happens one more time we won't be able to keep her in the class. There's a waiting list for this class, and I would need to give her place to someone else."

"Look, Ms Virtue, I'm sorry for this. Charlie used to take a ride home with Tracy's mom, but they recently moved far away from us" And on top of having to deal with Charlie constantly whining about how much she missed her best friend in the world, he was trying to rearrange his work schedule to make it all happen on his own.

"I was not supposed to be this late," he continued, "the traffic was terrible, and I couldn't call the girl who sometimes babysits in such short notice, I called here and said I'd be late."

"Yes, you did, but we can't wait around for you every time, you're not the only one with a busy life."

Oh, ok. Maybe she knew of him at some level too and possibly had a totally wrong impression about who Scott Moir was.

"This won't happen again, Ms Virtue." He said at the end.

"I hope so." She looked over his shoulder when Charlie came back running with her little Frozen backpack in one hand. Tessa got to her knees to talk to her student. “Did you get everything, Charlie?"

"I did, Miss Virtue," She nodded eagerly. She was too cute for her own good and Tessa couldn't help but smile,

"Good, I'll see you next week ok?"

"Ok! Thanks, Miss Virtue, I had SO much fun!" She hugged Tessa tightly around her neck and the woman almost lost her balance, but that enthusiastic display of affection was more than welcome.

"You're welcome, little girl," Tessa hugged her back.

When she let go of Tessa and walked back to her father to grab his hand, Tessa rose to her feet to observe them discreetly.

"All set, Charlie?" Scott looked down at his daughter.

“Yes!" She looked at her father and realised his shirt had wet patches in it.

"Good, let's go then." Scott turned to Tessa and said, "Thanks for your time Ms Virtue, I'll see you on Monday at 6:30." A soft, but still sarcastic smile still played on his lips.

She just nodded once and stayed to watch them walk away.

"What do you want for dinner, Charlie?" She heard Scott ask her.

"Can I pick anything?"

"Absolutely! it's the least I can do for making you wait."

"Pasta! No green stuff in it."

"Your wish is my command."

Scott took his bomber jacket off and picked Charlie up, “Put it over your head baby, it’s raining a lot outside.”

Like the daddy girl she was, Charlie did exactly what he asked and looking over his shoulder, she waved to Tessa with a huge smile before they disappeared through the exit.

He was not that bad, a very small voice said in her head as she desperately tried to not go _there_. She had noticed how his hair was wet from the rain, and the button down shirt he wore had damp patches on it sticking to his very impressive torso.

And honestly, no woman with hot blood in her veins would be able to look away from his nice butt in that pair of dark fitting jeans.

Turning in the opposite direction to get her stuff in the locker room, Tessa couldn't avoid the image of that cocky smile flashing in her head, and mostly, the lovely way he interacted with little Charlie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a short one, more like a prologue. I'm kinda testing the waters here... It's not much but I'd love to hear what you think about it!
> 
>  
> 
> twitter @claire_smh


	2. Meet Charlie Moir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Just to situate, this chapter takes place before the first one :) I hope you like it!

“Hi, Tess.” At a seat away from the bright lights on the ice, Tessa heard her name and looked up from the Instagram feed to meet Lauren’s face. 

“Hey!” she rose to her feet and put the phone in her back pocket. “How was your weekend?”

“Good! Peter and I went house scouting again, and I really liked one of them, maybe this is the one.” Her blue eyes shined when she talked about her boyfriend of 3 years and the perspective of finding a home of their own, Tessa noticed. Lauren and Peter were such a cute couple, and they looked adorable together.

Lauren had this natural golden tan skin and always wore her dark hair in a stylish pixie look while Peter was a professor at the University of Toronto, tall and skinny with large black framed glasses and an unruly ginger hair. It was a contrast, yes, but Tessa mostly saw it as balance.

“That’s amazing! I want to see the photos later” She was so happy for them.

“Of course, I need your opinion about the kitchen setting.”

Kitchen? She actually cringed. “You know kitchens are not my habitat.”

“But you are a pro at making a house feel homey.”

Tessa shrugged but smiled anyway “I’m here to help if you need me.”

“Great!” Lauren heard the rising volume of children talk and looked to a little group entering the main area of the rink, “our class is about to start, we’ll see to it later.”

“Anytime.” Tessa made a move to walk away.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Lauren spoke up “There’s an addition to our class this evening, her name is Charlotte Moir. Her grandma enrolled her last week, and she’s here to start today.”

“No problem. How old is she?”

“She’s only 4, but apparently she has some previous experience.”

Tessa looked around to see if she identified any new faces around her group, “is she already here?”

Lauren searched around to lay her eyes in a duo, an older woman with a little girl on her lap with their heads joined.

“There she is.” Tessa’s colleague pointed discreetly to them, making she turn her eyes in the direction.

“I’m going there to say hi before I put my skates on then.”

“Great! I’ll meet you on the ice.”

Tessa walked across the seats to reach them, getting close enough to hear a bit of their conversation.

"Are you excited to skate today, Charlie?”

“Tracy is not here, Nana."

"We talked about it, she is not coming today, but she'll be here in your next class. You will ride with here every day you two have classes, doesn't it sound fun?"

She just shrugged her little shoulders and curled even more to her grandma's arms. The grandma noticed her first and gave her a polite smile, acknowledging her presence before she went back to her conversation with the girl.

"Remember how Tracy told you Ms Virtue is the best teacher in the world,? She's right here. Why don't we say hi to her, sweetheart?"

Charlie looked up at her and Tessa really saw her. Big golden brown eyes were hiding behind a dark wave of hair brushing past her shoulder. She had the cutest little pout mouth and this freckles on top of her round cheeks. Charlie didn't look away, sizing her, analysing and trying to decide if that woman was as nice as Tracy had said. Either way, Tessa got her attention.

"Hi Charlotte, I'm Tessa, your teacher here."

When Tessa crouched in front of Charlie a soft smile curved her lips up. She had beautiful eyes, now up close she saw the streaks of green around her iris and how openly she showed her curiosity through them.

"Hi." Her voice was just a whisper as she laid her head on the older woman's shoulder, fidging her blouse in between her fingers.

"I'm Alma Moir" She offered her free hand do Tessa "it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm a fan."

"Oh, thank you so much." Tessa replied and shook her hand,"nice to meet you, Alma."

"I'm this girl's grandma, she's a shy little thing, but hopefully she will get better on the ice. She loves skating, don't you, Charlie?"

"I do." She confirmed.

It was amazing how her eyes never left Tessa Virtue, Alma noticed. Her granddaughter always chose carefully the people she trusted, and she was very selective about her choices.

"I see you already have your skates on; your laces are really neat, well done!”

"Nana taught me how to do it. She's a teacher too."

"Oh really?" Tessa looked up at Alma.

"I'm a sync skating coach back in Ilderton."

"That's so cool, did your grandma taught you how to skate?"

"She did" her answers were always short, but her body language told Tessa she was a little more comfortable in the way she leaned away from Alma just a bit to talk.

"Do you want to show me what you know?"

Tessa rose to her feet and offered her a hand. Charlie looked to Alma, asking her permission.

She nodded once, "go on, Charlie." She put her on the floor to give her little incentive. Of all her grandkids, Charlie was the timidest of them and she tended to give her extra attention, especially since her younger son was a single father. Though he was a fantastic father, that girl needed a female figure in her life too, for now, grandma Alma would do the job. But she couldn't wait for Scott to find himself a good wife who would take care of them both.

"It's Charlie.”

"Come again?" Tessa tilted her head to hear better.

“People call me Charlie." The small voice was louder now.

Alma watched Charlie slipping her small hand into Tessa's who opened a bright smile when she felt the baby-soft skin against hers.

"It's very nice to meet you, Charlie. I hope we become great friends."

Charlie smiled at her, a beautiful and giving smile, and her heart might have skipped a beat. Alma saw it happening right in front of here, the moment Charlie fell in love with Tessa, and if she would dare to say, it was a mutual feeling. Oh, well, that would be interesting.

“Should we say bye to your grandma?"

"Yes," She let go of Tessa to give her grandmother a hug. "Are you staying here, Nana?"

“Of course, when you’re finished, we’re going home to call dad to let him know how was your first day of skating, ok?”

Charlie nodded and Alma kissed her hair before letting go of her. Quicker than she expected, Charlie went back to Tessa and held her hand.

“Ready?” Tessa asked.

“Yes.” She sounded more excited now.

 

* * *

 

One thing Tessa learned to love about teaching in the Skate Canada program was to see those kids beaming with pride at the littlest accomplishment.

A small smile formed on her lips at the sight of a row of the little heads protected by their helmets in every possible colour bent down while they draw patterns on the ice. They were having fun, but they were also learning about balance. Involuntarily, her eyes moved to the soft blue helmet with a blue maple leaf stick in the back, Charlie Moir. Her smile grew bigger.

Tracy was right by her side, wearing the pink glittery helmet over her golden mass of curls. Tracy had a charming personality, but somehow always looked up to Charlie when it came to skating skills who was a natural at the ice but still had problems interacting with the other kids. The two girls complimented each other in a beautiful way.

Charlie always stick with Tracy during the entire class and whenever she lost her friend, she looked positively terrified and Tessa quickly would come to her aid more over instinct than anything else.

They had rapidly developed a bound that was different from the other kids.

Tessa did a good job at keeping the attention to Charlie at an average amount, but she couldn’t deny that girl made her smile more often than the others, especially when she called “Ms Virtue” to show her how perfectly well she extended her right leg and balanced herself over a single blade.

“Well done, Charlie!” She would always say just before other kids tried to imitate her to receive the same compliment from Ms Virtue.

The Moir girl would keep her distance when there were too many people gathered, she noticed from day one. And she didn’t trust easily. Lauren quickly had tried to bond with her to help her out and only now, almost four weeks — and classes three times a week — later, she was starting to get a smile or two from Charlie.

A few of the juvenile girls who helped out had some lucky too, but they often called Tessa to help when Charlie got a little scared away by the excitement of the other kids.

Tessa had a meeting with her fellow coaches of the program after the class, and she was on her way out of the arena, her used Adidas sneakers matching the black and white legging and hoodie, when she recognized Charlie sitting in the row closer to the rink, watching a couple of junior girls training with their coach.

Lauren was sitting by her side and they talked quietly, the adult was pointing to the girls and seemed to explain what was happening to Charlie, who looks very much interested. Nowadays Charlie didn’t look down as much when Lauren talked to her which spoke a lot about how the girl was opening up more with Lauren. The pride in her little social accomplishment was very real. The petite girl with those beautiful eyes reminded so much of herself.

She once was the shy girl who just wanted to fit and asked her mom to start ice skating classes so she wouldn’t make fun o herself in the school trip to the rink. She fell in love with it in that same rink as much she did with her ballet class.

Her coach at the time even tried to pair her with other boys because she was an incredible dancer and they said she’d do great in ice dancing. But Tessa never got comfortable enough with anyone to try a career into ice dancing and she was pushed into single skating as a natural reflex to her always introspective personality and her trusting issues.

Tessa saw when Lauren meet her eyes and said something to Charlie before rising from her seat to meet with her a couple of rows up.

“Hey, are you leaving?”

She nodded, grabbing the shoulder strap of her gym bag. “What’s Charlie still doing here?”

“Her father called and said he’d be late.”

She looked at the time on her phone. “It’s past 7:30.”

Lauren shrugged.

“I thought she was riding with Tracy.”

“Not for the past two weeks, apparently.”

“Who are her parents? Did I meet them?” She could only remember Alma, her grandmother.

“The mom is not in the picture” She mentioned, “Her father’s name is Scott Moir.”

One eyebrow shot up to her hairline “The hockey player Scott Moir?”

“Exactly.” Tessa scrunched her face a bit, and Lauren laughed at her.

“Poor little girl.”

“I’ve seen them together, and he seems a good father. And he’s quite good-looking, have you seen his bottom in one of those sports magazine shoots? I wish Peter had one like that.”

She looked at Charlie kicking her feet back and forth, very focused in the movements being executed in the ice, she didn’t seem troubled, but she felt for the little girl. She had waited for her own father so many times, and he always let her down somehow. Until it didn’t matter to her anymore.

Tessa took another look at her phone and saw the buzzing notification about her dinner meeting in about one hour.

“I got her, don’t worry. Angela was with her while we were in the meeting, but she had a school work to finish. And I already told Pete I’ll be late tonight.”

“This is not fair. It’s way past her time to go home.”

“It happened before” she shrugged.

“That’s even worse,”

“He’s a single dad, Tess.”

“It’s not an excuse, how many single moms we have here and how many times they were late to pick their kid?

“It happens. If you see them together, you’ll realise how so much love is involved there.”

“Right.” She was not convinced at all.

She went to Charlie quickly and bent down to look at her in the eyes, “Hi, Charlie”.  
The way her eyes shone to the sight of Tessa could illuminate the entire rink “Hi Ms Virtue!” She looked at the bag on her shoulder “You are going home?”

“Yes, are you going too?”

She bounced her head back and forth “Dad is coming to pick me up. Tracy is living too far from us now, and I can’t come home with her anymore.”

Tessa didn’t know what made her heart clench, the excitement when she mentioned her dad was coming or the sadness when she talked about her best friend moving away.

“I’m so sorry to know Tracy moved away, but you still go to school together, and you have the skating class to have lots of fun together, right?”

“Yes.” Charlie shrugged, and Tessa wanted to gather her in a tight embrace and make that little frown between her eyes and the cute pout lips go away.

“Tess, you’re gonna be late,” Lauren said standing in a row above them

“Are you going to be fine with Lauren, Charlie?” She nodded. “Good. See you on Friday?”

“Yes!”

Tessa breathed a laugh, “have a good day at school tomorrow sweetie.”

“Thanks, Ms Virtue.” She hugged Tessa and caught her by surprise, but her arms circled her little body before she could register it.

“You’re welcome, little girl.”

Tessa could still smell the sweet floral perfume of her hair when she looked at the city lights on her way home. Those small arms around her neck in such a spontaneous and affectionate gesture marked her for some reason. The soft expression o her face was replaced for pure annoyance thinking that Charlie was probably still at the arena, waiting for her father. Scott Moir. They never met, but she had a very clear picture of him from the 2014 Winter Olympic games, and it only added to the fact he had left the sweetest girl waiting for him two times now.

She was sure he was used to women waiting around for him since he started to play his charm with them, but people expect that when a man becomes a father, things change and their priorities shift. To some of them, that change never comes.

Charlie deserved better; particularly if he was the only parent she could count on.

Tessa was intrigued since she couldn't remember hearing about him having a kid in 2014, and gossip was something athletes did more than terminating with the provided stock of condoms at the Olympics.

Just thinking about googling him said a lot about how she cared for her student more than she should. But she tried to ignore the alerts ringing, shovelling the Charlie thoughts to the back of her mind, and directing her attention to the meeting she had ahead of her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading the first chapter and leaving your comments, I was so thrilled with the response to it! 
> 
> I'm sorry I took so long to update this, but life happened and I didn't have much time to write over the past month. I think I might be able to go back to my usual once a week update, but we shall see. Let me know if you prefer smaller 2k words chapters and one a week updates or longer chapters and more sparse posts...
> 
> You can find me on twitter (@claire_smh) if you wanna chat :)


	3. Coffee treat

He Googled her. Scott was in the line to get himself a coffee at the Starbucks a couple of blocks from the skating club, reading Tessa Virtue’s profile on her website. She was born In Toronto and started skating at the age of 7, collecting several medals since then, including three Olympic golds and two silvers from individual and team competitions. And she looked terrific in that glittery outfits.

He scrolled down to a series of quick questions from which he could deduce a couple of things 1. She was driven and passionate about skating, 2. She had the likings of a 50-year-old woman, 3. Some Lindt chocolate could soften her up. He would keep this information for future use, hopefully.

“Hello, sir, what can I get you?” The young woman behind the cashier asked in a polite and monotonous tone, she didn’t even look up, closing the previous order in a hurry to start his.

“Good evening,” He said back with a smile in his voice — at least it made her look up. “Can I have a grande latte to go? And a Chocolate chip cookie too.” Charlie would love a treat, and she could have some sugar after spending one hour at the rink, right?

“That will be $5,45.” She shouldn’t have more than 20 years, Scott thought, a university student probably and easily charmed by with personality. “Your name, sir?”

“Scott” He looked up at the menu again and added “Can you add a Grande Green Tea? The name is ‘Tessa’”

“Sure.” Her smile fell a bit, and he found it cute, she quickly grabbed another cup and scribbled down the name and the order to pass along, Scott reached for his wallet and pulled $10 “keep the change”.

He left the Starbucks with the look of the young girl burning the back of his head, two cups to go and Charlie’s cookie (warm, just how she liked it). He got into his car, an improved, more family compatible version of his bachelor sports Acura. Even though that part of his life was long gone, it didn’t mean he had to drive a pickup truck in the city, he reserved it for holidays in London where he would go all country boy.

Besides, his baby was a neat freak, which didn’t make sense having such a messy father; she understood the value of leather seats and never left a crumble or liquid stain in her car seat. To be fair, if she did, he wouldn’t mind at all, car seats could be cleaned and changed.

And he started the engine, he took a look at the time and smile, he would get to see Charlie skating today.

After Tessa Virtue schooled him for being late to pick up his daughter, something he was already very annoyed about when he got there, he had a very much needed conversation with the PR manager who made his life a bit easier by dealing with his business and media thing, and set his priorities straight once again. He had to back up a bit on the number of stuff he had running at the moment, something he had to balance from time to time.

Scott had to learn to be an organised person since Charlie stepped into the scene, or at least as much as he could. And when his mom left, they had Charlie’s schedule all figured out with the help of Tracy’s mom, and when they moved away too far away, things got messy. His mom even asked if he wanted her to come to give him a hand but he refused quickly, Charlie was his responsibility and his number one priority.

He considered finding another skating club to enrol her, one closer to home, but between Tracy and Ms virtue, it was humanly impossible to take her away from there. And his mother had chosen that one because it was the best and it was what Charlie deserved.

Scott took a seat close to the boards, retrieving his coffee from the support, leaving Tessa’s in the paper package with charlie’s cookie. He was one of the few fathers there, and possibly the only single one, he felt the moms staring at him and heard the muffled conversations, but his eyes never left Charlie.

He could see her across the ice, wearing a beaming smile and feeling so confident. He was right about not taking her out of here.

Tessa would do some laps, assist other kids but somehow from time to time her path always crossed with Charlie’s. She said something that got a belly laugh and almost made her lose her balance and fall. He saw it happening and quickly stand in an impulse, but Tessa was quick and grabbed her under her armpits and positioned her back in a standing position.

Charlie looked around, too aware people might be watching her but her teacher was quicker and distracted her, grabbing Charlie by the hand as they started skating again, the incident was long forgotten.

Sitting back, Scott relaxed to enjoy the beautiful sight of that woman skating with such grace and elegance around the ice and how she and Charlie made a pretty picture.

He knew of ice skating, he came from a family of a bunch of them, but it was never his thing. His aunt tried too many times to make him an ice dancer, but he was too stubborn and just wanted to play hockey. And the girls were all annoying at the age of 9.

He should have stuck with it, imagine having a beautiful partner like Tessa instead of 5 other ungraceful and rude man as teammates.

Scott waited until the class was finished to approach the boards. Charlie was too distracted talking with Tracy when he got her from behind and earned a happy squeal from her.

“Hey, munchkin!”

“Dad!” She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

“Hi, Mr Moir.” Tracy rose her chin up with a cheeky smile.

“Tracy,” He got down to the girls level, not letting Charlie go. “did you have fun in the class today?”

“It was so much fun! Charlie showed how to balance on one foot and everything.”

“I saw it! You girls were great” He got closer to them and whispered, “don’t tell anyone, but you were the best in the group.”

“Really?” They asked in sync.

“Really. I promise.”

“Yes!” The girls said together,

From afar, Tessa couldn't take her eyes away from the small group. Charlie didn’t let go of her father for a second and Scott seemed very comfortable holding her close to his side.  
It was incredible to see how she transformed from the shy, almost scared girl, into this spontaneous and happy person when he was around.

Tracy’s mom came to get her and talked to Scott for a second before they said their goodbyes and left.

All the kids had already left the ice, and the material for the class had been collected. Though she was not in the mood to cross Scott’s way, she didn’t have a choice since he was right in the existence and it would be ridiculous if he noticed how she was avoiding to meet him. 

She was going to make it, but…

“Ms Virtue!” _Oh no Charlie._

She turned around to face them, focussing on Charlie’s face solely “Hey!”

“Dad said I did great today.”

“Oh, your dad watched you on the ice?”

“Yes, he did,” Scott said, and Charlie nodded, full of pride.

“You really did great today, Charlie, I’m very proud of you.”

She earned the most beautiful smile from her, the kind Tessa could never resist.

“I’m sorry I messed up your plans last week, Ms Virtue,” He started, “I brought you some green tea when I was getting Charlie and I a snack. Truce?”

Scott offered her a cup with her name on it, but she didn’t show any reaction.

“My mom taught me I shouldn’t accept drinks from strangers.” She crossed her arms in front of her.

Before Scott could come up with an answer, Charlie spoke in all her innocence “He’s my dad, Ms Virtue, he’s no stranger.”

 _Charlie, you’re the most amazing kid in the world_. He would buy her a shitload of cookies.

Scott wanted to laugh, so hard, Tessa was speechless. He raised an eyebrow and extended his hand, offering her the cup again. She looked at Charlie’s expectant eyes and sighed, reaching for it.

“You looked like a tea girl.” The convinced smirk said it all

“I’m very much a coffee girl, Mr Moir.” The satisfaction in her voice was loud, “But this will do.”

She raised her paper cup and took a sip, looking at him over the lid. Scott openly stared at her green eyes until Charlie pulled him out of his trance, poking him on the shoulder.

“Do you want your cookie now?”

“Uh, yes.” Wasn’t it obvious? Charlie raised her opened hand, waiting not so patiently.

She always had a sweet tooth, and anything chocolate related was an infallible bribery.

Seeing Charlie occupied with the cookie in her hand, and secretly craving one for herself, Tessa used the distraction to leave, she said her affectionate goodbye to Charlie and to Scott, she raised her, cup walking a couple of steps backwards “thanks for the drink, Mr Moir.”

“Next time I’ll remember you prefer coffee.”

“Do it.”

Tessa turned his back to him and raised her hand in a wave.

 

* * *

 

"So, which coffee Charlie’s father brought you today?” Jordan asked her sister over their lunch in Terroni, an Italian place just around Tessa's apartment. They had found a nice seat in the back, close to the rustic look brick wall and the windows casting the autumn sun.

Tessa took her time chewing on her last bite of Margherita pizza .“Caramel Macchiato,” she answered.

“Hm, that was a good one.” Jordan put both her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her joined hands. "I'd _love_ to have someone to buy me a coffee." And she actually did, Ben always brought her coffee to the office way before he put a ring in her left hand. 

Tessa rolled her eyes to the woman who could be her twin if she wasn't four years older, "don't get any ideas, Jordan."

"You were the one who told me about him and every coffee he brought you in the past weeks."

"I was angry because of Charlie."

“You were? Does it mean you got over that first impression already?"

"I know the type, J, besides, it doesn't matter, he’s just my student's father.”

Jordan opened her mouth to reply, but the waiter appeared to ask about their food and take the plates. When the boy asked if they wanted dessert, Tessa quickly requested for Tiramisu and two spoons. Jordan would go with whichever she chose, and if they split, she wouldn't feel too guilty about the carbs and sweet combo.

“I don’t understand your problem with him, because he left Charlie waiting twice it doesn’t mean he’s like our father, these things happen, Tess. You said he had been good, didn’t you? And very assiduous to the classes.”

“Yes.”

“Then give him a chance, go grab a coffee with him or something, you need to go out of this nutshell Tess, you can’t use your going-for-the gold excuse anymore. You got your gold, and sis, it was the best performance of your life, we all know that. But you’re officially retired from competition. Go live a little outside of the rink.”

Tessa patiently waited, having heard forms of this speech too many times, from her mother, Jordan, her friends, and even from herself in a bizarre dream. "Finished?”

“Yes, thank you, I needed to get it out."

They were silent for a second. Jordan got into the attorney mode and appealed to a more rational argument. It often worked with headstrong Tessa since she could knock down all her arguments one by one until she got nothing left. Though she would never admit to be wrong, she would end up doing things differently.

"Can you at least try?" Jordan pleaded. "It doesn't need to be with him, but I have a feeling that, by the way you talk about Charlie, her father can't be a bad person if he raised her and she adores him.""

"We did too."

"And we were wrong about _our_ dad, but we always had mom to take care of us. It's not the same."

Jordan looked at Tessa, giving time for her words to sink in over their desert. She was playing around with the top layer of cream, Tessa looked up and Jordan tilted her head slightly, waiting.

"Ok, fine. I might tell him I like my cappuccino with almond milk instead tomorrow."

"Dear Lord, I give up."

Jordan shook her head and laughed and Tessa just shrugged. She prayed to whatever gods responsible for this lost cause that her little sister would stop being so stubborn about having a love life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, once a week posts are happening. I'll try to make it at least 2k words so it's not too short. 
> 
> The past couple of weeks were a bit crazy and I didn't have time to reply to your comments, but please know how much I appreciate it, I'm so happy with your feedback about this fic! I promise this week I'll reply to all the comments. 
> 
> Please, let me know what you thought about this chapter! You know you can always find me on twitter under @claire_smh
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading and have a great week!


	4. Damn you, Scott Moir

If Tessa was honest with herself, her routine had changed since she first met Charlie. She got to the rink earlier and stayed longer, until Charlie (and her father), had left.

She only drank a small cup of coffee in the morning and reserved the rest of her daily caffeine to the evening beverage Scott Moir would bring her. It was quite entertaining to see what he would come up with day after day; he was quite creative, and if the Starbucks secret menu was really a thing, she was sure they could ask Scott for some new recipes.

And since Charlie told her daddy that Ms Virtue had shared a chocolate chip cookie with her before a class the other day, Scott made sure to include the sweet with her order. It was supposed to be a secret, but for a 4-year-old, it was too easy to spill the beans.

Jordan’s words were still circling around her brain, even when she unintentionally picked a new pair of leggings Adidas had sent her and a form-fitting blue sweater instead of her comfortable old ones. In her closet, Tessa applied an extra layer of mascara, satisfied with the way the black in her lashes and the very subtle brown eyeshadow made the green in her eyes pop.

Combing her waves with her fingers, she inspected her look in the mirror; maybe she should let her hair down... She needed to have a cut, her waves were a bit more rebellious than the normal, but after going through every colour and every hair length she could think of in the past 29 years, she was finally happy with her natural brown and the ends reaching below her breasts.

“Get a grip, Tessa.” She mumbled to herself, turning her back to the mirror to open the first drawer of the centre island in her walk-in closet. She took a hair tie out of it and quickly pulled her hair up in a top bum, crossing the room to her little shoe heaven on display, where the incredible collection of sneakers lived in peace with her equally precious and numerous high heels. She could be very girlie too.

That place was kind of the epitome of that. Tessa had recently converted one of the spare bedrooms into that sanctuary for clothes, shoes, accessories and her makeup. And it made her feel as much satisfied and in her element as the small library down the hall.

Tessa had thought about everything, from the thick carpet under her bare feet was soft and cosy to the light coloured walls and furniture to bounce the light coming from the window, and the vintage-look rose gold chandelier in the middle.

With the black sneakers in her hand, she gave one final look to the room, still in love with every detail of it before she turned lights off and went to the kitchen to sneak a 70% dark chocolate bar in her gym bag on her way out.

When she got to her car, she put her Hall and Oast playlist on and made her 15 minutes journey to the rink, singing along “oh here she comes, she’s a maneater” and bouncing her head to the rhythm.

She laughed alone to the lyrics, feeling so silly and still knowing very well that the expectation was growing on her.

Tessa applied a tinted lip balm just before she got out of her car parked in front of the skating club and puffed her chest slightly under the long caramel coat and the grey scarf, feeling all confident when she crossed the main door of the arena.

 

* * *

  
It was still too early when she got there, the rink is practically empty. Tessa left her stuff in the staff lockers room and went to Lauren’s office. She had a phone between her shoulder and her ear while typing something on a spreadsheet on her computer.

She looks up, and smiles, acknowledging Tessa’s presence before she rolled her eyes and said into the phone “Of course, Mrs Reid, your daughter’s place is guaranteed for January. No, there’s no chance of someone taking it.”

Lauren contorts her face in a grimace and Tessa muffles a laugh, dropping herself in the chair in front of her. She couldn’t say she envied the bureaucracy her friend had to deal with and mostly, the problematic parents. Dealing with the kids was heaven compared to their demanding parents.

Lauren ended the call, putting the phone down “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry,” Tessa waved her hand.

“I’ve spent more time in the phone today than anything else.” She rose to her feet and crossed the decent size office to the kettle boiling in a corner. Lauren poured the water over the herbal tea bag and turned back to look at her, “do you want some tea?”

Tessa shook her head “No, thanks.”

“Oh right, Scott Moir is bringing you coffee later.” She winked at the other woman going back to her seat and got the signature Tessa glare in response.

Lauren left the teal green mug over the cup holder between the keyboard and the piles of folders with students names to cool down a bit. She pressed two fingers on her temples and leaned against the tall backrest of her ugly but super comfortable office chair.  
  
“Difficult day?”

“You have no idea,” she sighed. “but today’s class is going to be easy, half of the kids are not attending, either because they have the flu or because their parents are afraid they’ll get it.”

“Really?” Was Charlie sick?

She nodded and looked at Tessa and really paid attention to her now “You are different.” Lauren pointed the finger at her.

Tessa shrugged “I bought some new products I wanted to try.”

“Oh my god, you’re actually dressing up for Moir.”

“Shut up.” She felt the heat colouring her cheeks, and she looked down when Lauren started to laugh out loud.

“Ow. Don’t make me laugh, I have an awful headache.”

“Sorry, not sorry.”

“Don’t be a bitch, I’m the one who knows that Charlie is not on the sick kids list.”

“Thank god.” She breathes in relief.

“And until now, her father didn’t call to say she’s not coming, which means he’s coming too.” She wiggled her eyebrows and earned herself another glare.

Tessa sees Lauren closing her eyes to take a sip of her tea, and rubbing her forehead again. “Go home, we can handle the kids with the junior girls helping if it’s just half of the class.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positively.”

“You’re the best.”

“I go from bitch to the best in two seconds?”

“I’m easily sold.”

Tessa rose to her feet “I’m going to get ready then, ask Peter to come pick you up, you’re looking horrible.”

“Gee, thanks.”

She gave her shoulder a squeeze and left Lauren in her office

 

* * *

 

Tessa would think twice before she volunteered again to take care of a group of more than 15 kids with one coach missing. They were a handful, and Lauren was so good at controlling them.

5 minutes into the class, Tessa looked one more time to the seat from where Scott usually watched Charlie finding it empty and Charlie was nowhere to be seen; she would recognise her anywhere across the rink. It didn’t feel right.

Maybe Charlie was sick after all. She hated the idea of her feeling poorly.

She had to focus on the other kids, later she would find a way to know about Charlie. It was ok to a teacher call the kid's parent to know about her student, right?

Tessa and Maddie, one of the juniors, where demonstrating how the kids should do the circuit they had laid down for them. She was passing the small cones, turning around them to show the kids how they should do it, and stayed close to them to correct the movements and assist however they needed her to.

“Ms Virtue?” The little guy in a Canada hockey shirt and black helmet asked for her.

“Yes, Dave?” How she memorised all their names was a mystery to her.

“Am I doing it right?” He navigated through the path with reasonably good skill and Tessa kept with him, giving the boy all her attention. Sometimes it was everything they needed.

“Awesome job, boy!” Dave got a high five and Tessa got a brilliant smile. “Now why don’t you try Jane’s part of the circuit, I’ll be there in a second to take a look, ok?”

“Ok!”

He went forward, getting in the line to pass the part where they had to walk a line stepping one foot over another and later they would use it to learn how to do crossovers.

“Well done, guys!” She encouraged when the row of kids passed through the first activity, smiling at them.

She felt a small hand slipping into hers and looked down in surprise, “Charlie! You came!”

Her eyes darted away from her for a second, and her smile fell a bit when she didn’t found who she was looking for between the regular parents. Well, that sucked.

Tessa got on one knee in front of Charlie, holding both her hands “Are you ok, little girl?” She got a nod in response and Tessa inspecting her for any signs of sickness and didn’t find any, thank god. But she didn’t say a word.

“Where’s Tracy?”

“She’s not here.” Tessa looked around over Charlie’s shoulder, and she was right, Tracy was not in the ice today. “She didn’t go to school ‘cause she’s sick.” Charlie pouted.

“She needs to stay home to get better soon, right?” Her big hazel eyes looked panicked below the cap of her blue helmet, and Tessa almost didn’t recognise Charlie’s usual self around her. Tessa squeezes her hands, before letting go, but the girl’s grip got tighter and tighter. “Do you want to start from which part?”

She looked down and remained silent. Tessa heard the kids squealing around them, reminding herself she needed to get back to help them, but she wouldn’t leave Charlie. “Do you want to go to Maddie? She can show you how to jump over the lines, and you’ll be making those fun jumps in no time, what do you think?”

Charlie shook her head.  _Oh baby, you need to help me here._ Tessa thought, not having a clue about what she should do, not even on her first day they met she was was this difficult.

“Can you be my assistant for the day, then? We can stay here helping the others.”

Charlie looked up and tilted her head, how could _she_ help, Ms Virtue being so little? Ms Virtue made it sound she was important… no one was ever her assistant. Charlie nodded softly.

 _That’s my girl!_ “Thank you so much, I really need help today.”

Tessa hugged her and rose to her feet, keeping one small hand in hers. Charlie clung to Tessa for the next hour and only for a miracle she could still manage the other kids. Maddie came to her aid occasionally, but Charlie was extra handful today, and her dear father was nowhere to be seen. She was feeling utterly ridiculous considering all the thought she had put into meeting Mr Moir that day.

 _Thank you so much, Jordan_. Tessa grimace at the end of her class, when the parents quickly got their kids out of the ice, not exposing them to the cold any more than necessary.

Charlie was a little ball of fluff coat and a pink scarf, she had gloves on too and a warm set of flower printed pants, at least she was protected enough from the cold. Charlie was helping Tessa to pick up the tiny cones and arranging things, she almost lost her balance with the number of clothes she had on, and it was incredibly cute.

Charlie handed her the last orange cone, and Tessa pilled on top of the others in her hand. “Thank you very much, Charlie, you saved the day helping me today.” She got a genuine smile for the first time that day and her until then, she didn’t realise how her world brightened up seeing that girl truly fine.

Tessa skated to the borders to put the material away, and Charlie was her shadow. She looked up and was not surprised to find the seats practically empty. Damn you, Scott Moir. She was very much pissed with him.

She looked down at Charlie and set in the step dividing the ice into the rubber covered floor. She took her helmet off and brushed her waves out of her face, pushing them over her shoulders. “How about we skate together for a bit, just you and I?” It would be a good distraction until Scott showed up, she didn’t want Charlie to feel left off specially in a day when she was so out of character.

Charlie nodded enthusiastically. Tessa rose and speed forward in a single move, gathering her by the waist to raise her up in the air. The giggles and squeals sent warmth straight to her heart. She put Charlie back on the ice and held her hands "Can you show me how you stay on one foot?"

"Yes." She rose one blade off the ice and leaned into Ms Virtue's hands, she would never let her fall. Her teacher skates backwards, directing the path as they crossed the ice. 

"Well done!" Ms Virtue sounded so proud, it made her feel good.

She got that special hug too, one only her father would give her, not even Nana Alma's hugs were so good. She thought about her dad and looked at the place he usually sat; he was not there.

“Where’s daddy, Ms Virtue?” She murmured and Tessa heard the hurt in her voice.

“I don’t know, sweetie." She wouldn't lie to Charlie, "but I’m here for you, ok? And you call me Tessa, little girl. We are friends, right?”

"Right" She nodded, tightening her arms around her neck and laying a head on her shoulder. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scott is making things difficult here :| 
> 
> This posting schedule is a mess, but I'll try to post another chapter on Wednesday. And thank you so much for reading and for leaving such lovely comments, you guys sure know how to make my day happier :)
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you have a great week!
> 
> Twitter: claire_smh


	5. He's not that bad

 

Tessa had no idea where Scott Moir was, but he sure wad getting a bunch of missed calls from her. The only other emergency contact was from Alma Moir, and the woman lived in freaking London, she wouldn’t do any good to call the grandma and worry her because her son was an irresponsible jerk.

She had sent him a text and there was no received sign from the app yet.

 _“Mr Moir, this is Tessa Virtue, Charlie’s coach at the PreSkate program._  
_She’s still at the rink; the skating club tried to contact you, and we didn’t have any success,_  
_as the responsible adult for her class, I’m taking her home with me in the following address._  
_This is my contact number, I’d appreciate if you could return my calls as soon as possible._

_T. Virtue.”_

She was as professional and impersonal as she could so Mr Moir would have a clue about how serious she was.

Tessa could have stayed at the rink with Charlie, but the girl needed to eat something and she wouldn’t leave her little shadow alone. Without Lauren around, she was the only coach left, she would never leave her with one of the juniors girls or a stranger to cause Charlie even more trouble.

In the elevator, Tessa fished the keys from her bag with one hand, holding Charlie’s with the other.

She didn’t hesitate when Tessa asked if she wanted to go home with her, that blind trust Charlie had in her scared her so much, specially when she realised she never took care of a kid, not even babysat in her teens. Apart from her work are the rink, Tessa had zero experience with children.

What should she eat? Did Charlie had any food allergies? Was she allergic to cats? Tessa didn’t even have a cat, but her neighbour did and sometimes Boris wandered around her apartment if he found the door opened. The panic was very real when she opened the front door.

Tessa got on one knee in front of the girl. “This is my home, Charlie,” she sounded quite put together to her ears, surprisingly “your dad will come to pick you up here as soon as he can, ok?”

And he better be on his way, she thought to herself.

Charlie looked around, and then said in a small voice "okay".

Tessa helped Charlie to take her backpack off and placed it right beside her bag in a hook on the hall. The small and the big one, the pink and the black; the contrast was real, and still, it added a nice colour to the surroundings.

They walked around hand in hand, switching the lights on as they passed the living room on their way to the kitchen and a curious Charlie looked around, getting to know the new environment. “What you usually eat for dinner, Charlie?” Tessa asked.

She looked up, “dad sometimes makes pasta, or chicken, or a sandwich.”

“Your dad cooks?” Scott Moir cooking? She didn't see it coming.

She nodded “He makes the best pancakes in the world.”

“That’s really nice!" Why don’t you take a seat here and I’ll see what I can make for us?”

Tessa helped her up on a high seats by the centre island, making sure she was in the right place and wouldn't fall before moving across the kitchen to check the fridge. She was 99% sure there was nothing in there.

She considered calling her mother and asking for some help with a kid-friendly meal, or any meal. But Charlie would probably starve before she answered all the questions Kate Virtue would have. She was a terrible liar and wouldn’t be able to keep her shit together, her mom knew very well how to crackle her - Jordan got it from her.

She found cheese, wholemeal bread and eggs. And butter, she always had butter now. For someone who knew nothing about cooking, butter saved her life, everything tasted better with butter; it was her recent discover after the retirement, a small pleasure in the form of fat.

She could make poached eggs, but she didn’t think it was suitable for a kid. Maybe scrambled eggs then? And grilled cheese.

Where was that Good Food Canada sponsored supply when she needed it?

She gathered all the ingredients and closed the fridge with her a foot, putting it by the sink, right in front of Charlie. She was observing her, her elbows resting on the crisp white marble and the small chin pressing the heels of her hands.

"Does grilled cheese sounds good?'

"I love grilled cheese!" Thank god. "Can you make extra cheesy?"

The way Charlie elongated the "e" and batted her long, dark lashes was so cute, Tessa suspected Cute Charlie could get anything from her. "As you wish, dear."

 

* * *

 

She found out Charlie was a Frozen fan and could sing all the songs with Elsa and Anna. While Tessa never watched the movie before, she was finding quite entertaining. Being an Ice skating fan since a very young age, she knew that would have been her favourite film in the world.

They sat in Tessa’s plush grey sofa, with a soft covert over their legs watching the big screen attentively. It was in the part where Anna was locked in the castle and Kristoff was coming to her rescue and Tessa wouldn’t even blink.

“Oh no, what-” She looked down and Charlie was curled up to her side, her head resting on her shoulder and her chest rising and falling in a steady motion, her lips parted slightly in her deep slumber. She was so tired...

Tessa didn’t know what made her so moody that day, she didn’t want to ask and upset her more when she started to get chatty again. It was amusing how many times the word “Daddy” crossed her lips and how she never mentioned a mom; apparently, the only female figures in her life were Grandma Alma and Aunty Kait.

Tessa got up carefully, laying her head on a pillow and covering her with the blanket. The heater did the job, and it was nice and warm in her loft, but having a blanket always made her feel more secure and comfortable, she hoped it did the same for Charlie. She brushed a thumb on the rosy plump cheeks and watched her for a second to make sure she was still asleep. She didn’t even stir.

Turning the TV off, Tessa walked to the kitchen, picking her phone to check for any sign of Scott.

 _I’m on my way_. She read on the notifications pop up.

Thank fucking god. Only 3 hours late.

 

* * *

 

She heard the intercom buzzing when she finished to butter the second slice of bread and carefully put on top of the cheese. Cleaning her hands in a tea towel, she answered the thing to clear his entrance.

Crossing the living room to enter the hall, Tessa was trying to decide if she was going to start her rant from the fact he was an irresponsible son of a bitch — even though she really liked his mom when she met her, or if she should mention first how he should pay attention to his daughter, the sweetest girl on this earth, and take in consideration how she was feeling.

She opened the door with the words on the tip of her tongue before he could ring the doorbell and wake up Charlie. He was standing there, about to knock on her door and his fist froze halfway through it when he saw her.

“You have Charlie?” It was the first thing he asked.

The desperation and the worry in his tone made her stop for a second and consider the image before her. He looked miserable, no fancy outfit that night, just old grey sweats and a Nike black hoodie. Scott looked like someone who got out in a hurry and didn’t even saw what clothes he picked. Tessa wouldn’t be surprised if his pants were inside out.

She crossed her arms in front of her body, “Yes, she’s asleep.”

“I’m so, so sorry. I can’t believe I let it happen, the babysitter should have taken Charlie to the rink and picked her up, but she misunderstood me. My battery died, and when I found myself a charger to call home and check on things, I saw the missed calls.” He rubbed both his hands over his tired face, “I probably lost 10 years thinking something had happened to Charlie before I saw your text.”

She expected cocky and reckless Scott, not worried and desperate Dad Scott. That man in front of her and the Daddy Charlie told her about in the past couple of hour, made Tessa give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Come in, she’s in the living room.“ She stepped aside and directed him to the next room where she had dimed the lights to a comfortable yellowish semidarkness.

Tessa watched as he strode quickly and sit on the edge of the sofa, brushing Charlie's hair off her forehead to plant a kiss there. “Charlie, baby,” Scott called her softly.

“Daddy?” She barely moved her lips to talk.

“Yes, I’m here baby.”

Charlie smiled still with her eyes closed and nuzzled the pillow falling back into her dreamland.

"We should go, Thank you so much for taking care of her, I’m in huge debt with you.“

"Wait." He was not leaving without giving her some answers. "I'm doing myself a grilled cheese, do you want some?" He looked at Charlie, "She already ate. Let her sleep."

Scott kissed her hair and got up, walking after Tessa to the kitchen.

"Is everything ok?" She looked at him across the centre island where he stood still; she rolled her eyes to him, "take a sit Scott, I won't bite."

Scott dropped his body on the nearest bench, "I'm really sorry. I screwed up."

"No shit, Sherlock. What happened? Charlie was a mess today."

"I was at the hospital until half an hour ago.'’

Ok. That was something. Was he injured? He wasn't sporting any visible bruise, but still, she didn't like the idea of him being hurt. "Did something happen?"

"Not with me, my godson, Matt, he got the flu bad, and he has chronic asthma. Kaytlin was terrified, Andrew was out of town playing, and they have an 8 months old boy too. Shit got crazy. When I called the babysitters in my contacts and no one was available, Tracy's mom gave me the number of one to look after Charlie."

"Charlie was very moody today." She pointed.

"I know, but I couldn't take her to the hospital with me, I didn't want to take the risk with this damn flu around." He was right, Tessa thought. "She knew something was wrong and she doesn't like to be left alone without a known face around, the new sitter was an awful idea, but I had no one to reach for."

Fair enough. "Is the boy ok now?"

"He'll be. I left when Andrew got there."

"I'm glad." She was not feeling such a fool anymore, he had a good reason. But he had to work on the parenting skills.

She opened the fridge and stick her head out, “I have orange juice and white wine, do you want some?"

"I'm driving, Orange juice will be fine. Thanks."

Tessa took the bottle out and filled two glasses, giving him some. Organic, he noticed, and not a cheap brand, but he supposed as an athlete, it was natural she would take care of herself.

She put the toast she made to herself aside and got two slices of bread to prepare him one. Scott watched the way she meticulously moved the knife over the surface of the bread, covering it all in an even layer of butter before cutting the cheese into a perfect square to put it in the middle. Somehow, it said a lot about her.

He took a sip of his juice, looking around discreetly. Her kitchen had that open concept, very modern and cool, but entirely unpractical if you really cooked. Besides, her house smelled too nice to be filled with the strong smell if you tried to cook something like garlic fried chicken.

"You have a nice home, thanks for bringing Charlie here and taking care of her."

"Thanks, and I did because I couldn't leave her behind."

"She likes you, very much. Charlie doesn't trust easily, but you quickly became her favourite person."

"Funny, the amount of times the word 'daddy' crosses her lips tell me otherwise."

"She is a daddy's girl, isn't she? Nothing could erase that proud smirk on his face when he talked about her "It's just the two of us, we're pretty close."

"I gathered it from her talk, and the coffees." She added

Straightforward, Scott liked that. "Her mom is not a part of her life, and never was." There was no resenresent in his speech, it was just a fact. "I get Charlie all to myself."

"I see." I was enough for now to her.

Tessa put the sandwiches over the heated skillet and got into cooking mode, paying close attention to the subject in her hand; she sure as hell didn't want to burn the toast with Scott Moir sitting across from her, watching her every move. She counted the time until it formed a crisp golden layer on one side and flipped to let the heat do its job on the other side.

She put it on a plate and handed him with a napkin, she was not that smug to eat toast at her own home with cutlery. "Here."

"Looks good, thanks, Virtue."

"You're sitting in my kitchen, and I cooked for you, we are way past the first name basis."

"I like the sound of it. Virtue."

She rolled her eyes to him "Eat, it's getting cold."

"Yes, ma'am."

It was really good, for a toast. But if she called that cooking, she would be pretty impressed with what he could do in his kitchen. Scott wanted to cook for her, and that was new; he only did it for Charlie and when he was among friends. But overall, he didn't trust half of his jock friends with Charlie, and he did trust Tessa.

The woman had brought his baby to her home to care for her when he failed to do so, no other woman got close to his daughter, though he had quite a history, he never let them get close enough. Except for one, but in the end, she didn't get his number one rule, Charlie would always come first.

And probably the most attractive feature in Tessa Virtue, even more than the piercing green eyes and amazing body, was the way she cared for the girl sleeping in her sofa.

"Thanks again. I owe you." He was very serious about that. Standing in her doorway, a pink backpack draped on his shoulder and a sleeping girl in his arms.  
She ran a hand down Charlie's hair, "Take care of her," It was all the return she needed. "And if something ever comes up, you have my number now, give me a call, and maybe I can watch her for you."

He was not expecting that. Scott nodded, "appreciate. Can I use it if I ever need to be watched too?" He smirked.

"Good night, Moir."

"I had to try. Night, Virtue."

She watched him cross the door. "Scott." He turned around "The hot chocolate last week was my favourite. Thanks for it."

Tessa saw the grin spread through his face and reach the tired hazel eyes.

"A plain hot chocolate, uh? You are easy, woman, but I'll take note."

He winked at her, and her stomach reacted to that thing called lust as her heart went momentarily soft when she closed the door behind her.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I answer some of your questions? I wanted so bad to give spoilers in my replies on the comments lol 
> 
> Thank you so, so much for reading and keeping up with this story, I can't wait to read your thought about this chapter. 
> 
> have a great week!
> 
>  
> 
> Twitter thing: claire_smh


	6. Dinner is on us

 

Tessa felt extremely silly as she turned her attention from the large group of children to focus on Charlie's father many times during the one hour class. Seeing him in his usual place brought her enormous pleasure and the butterflies back to her stomach.

She heard a low whistle and glanced at Lauren. "I saw that," she said.

She rolled her eyes, but the blush took over her face, and she quickly turned her gaze back to Gaby, who was often jealous of Tessa's attention to Charlie. She tried her best to be as impartial as possible, but sometimes she was overwhelmed by the charm of that girl who promptly won her heart.

Charlie as back to normal, mostly. She told Tessa how her friend Matt still couldn't come to her house to play over the weekend because he was sick, just like Tracy.

Regularly she looked at Scott too, and he would throw a wave to reassure her he was there, watching every movement across the ice with a proud parent smile on his face. If Tessa was happy to see him, nothing would compare to how her heart swelled to Charlie's genuine smile because her father was there for her.

When she exited the ice, Tessa made a beeline to where Scott was, kneeling in front of his daughter to help her out of her skates. They had their heads joined, whispering to each other in a conspiracy.

She watched them interacting from a distance; the corners of her mouth curled up when Scott made an exaggerated face to whatever she whispered to him.

While she pulled on her small black boots over the purple leggings, Scott rose with her little skates in his hand and just like a magnet, his eyes were drawn to Tessa a couple of steps away, wearing a pleasant smile on her face with her hands tucked in her hoodie pockets.

That red colour suited her. It made the green in her eyes more vivid. The image of Tessa, under the yellowish light in her doorway was carved in his memory, and the way those eyes with copper flecks looked at him made his skin prickle under the light coat.

She wore a black scarf, around her neck and her hair was down. More times than he would admit now he caught himself wondering how would it feel to rub a strand of those shining waves between his fingers.

"Hey," he heard himself saying.  
"Hi there." Tessa walked to him, as he zippered Charlie's bag fast to turn back to her.

"Done, daddy! Can we go?" She quickly got up and grabbed his hand.  
He looked down at her, "Aren't you forgetting something?"  
She looked at him puzzled and Scott pointed a look a Tessa. _Ah, right!_ Charlie thought, turning to her teacher, "do you want to have dinner with us?"

The woman tilted her head and raised an eyebrow “We thought we could swap the coffee for dinner tonight. We owe you.” Scott explained.  
“Oh,” she was caught by surprise. “Don’t worry; it was just a sandwich.”  
“Dad said we could eat burgers tonight.” Charlie gave her the puppy dog eyes, and without a doubt, Tessa’s heart melted right there.  
“Burgers, uh?” She couldn't remember the last time she had a burger. Tessa looked up at Scott “You’re letting your daughter do the dirty work now, Moir? That’s low, even for you.” But he saw a wisp of a grin dancing in her eyes.  
“It was her idea,” he shrugged. “I’m just the one with the plastic money who buys things and obey, right Charlie?”  
She nodded, not very interest in the adult talk; she just wanted a cheeseburger “I’m hungry daddy.”  
“You’re going in a minute, love.” Scott squeezed her hand and grabbed her backpack from the seat. “Are you giving us the honour of your company, Ms Virtue?”

How could she resist those two? She nodded, “since you asked so kindly.”

 

* * *

 

  
She had been to that restaurant before; it was a more fancy burger place but still kid-friendly. Tessa noticed the colouring placemats and how Scott quickly took a case filled with crayons from Charlie’s backpack as she sat by his side in the booth, waiting patiently. He made sure she was entertained before he placed their orders, asking Tessa what she wanted.

"Bacon cheeseburger?" He made a comment when they were left alone.  
"It's been a while; I thought I could indulge myself." Tessa shrugged.  
"Nice," Scott smirked back. He liked a girl with an appetite.

Charlie was deep in the task of colouring the autumn themed picture, her head slightly tilted to one side as she bit her bottom lip.

"She's such a good girl," Tessa said, leaning over the table to watch her drawing.  
“She is, I don’t know what I did to deserve a daughter like her, she’s amazing.” He looked down at Charlie with love and adoration emanating from him. If Scott was a handsome man, Dad Scott took her breath away.

The man had thought about his clothing that night. The jeans and dark sweater combo was so nice on him, but it was the hair combed back that gave away the extra effort. When he leaned his head closer to Charlie’s and picked a skinny crayon to start colouring with her, a short strand fell over his forehead, and Tessa had to suppress the urge to reach across the table and put it back in place.

“You’re doing wrong, dad, the sky is not purple” Charlie complained.  
“Why my sky can't be purple?”  
“Because it is blue.” Simple as that.  
“Ok, then.” He changed the colour and got back to the drawing. “She’s a neat freak, her room is more organised than mine, and I don’t even need to tell her to put the things back into place.” He pointed to Tessa.  
“I’ve seen the way she always hangs her backpack in the same hook at the rink and never leaves her jacket around as the other kids do.”  
“Sometimes I want her to get messy and reckless, and just have fun.” She was deep in concentration and didn't notice when he put the crayon down and leaned over his arms on the table. “But I suppose it’s part of her.”  
“It doesn’t mean she doesn’t have fun.” She thought about herself, “I was a kid just like her. I'm sure she'll claim her place in the world and have so much fun, just like she is."  
"I can see you both have a connection; I'm glad she looks up to you." He said with no filters. "We were watching your Pyeongchang performance last week, and she was trying to replicate the moves later in her room before bed." It was so sweet; he even snapped a couple of photos to go with the other thousands on his phone.

Tessa didn't know what made her more self-conscious, the fact she was a role model for that sweet kid or the fact Scott had watched her programme and talked openly about it.

"I don't know what to say."  
"A 'thank you', is fine," Scott said, mocking her lightly.

Tessa rolled her eyes to him but said: "thank you".

“Dad, can you draw Olaf?” Charlie spoke up.  
“It’s the snowman from frozen,” He explained.  
“I know, we’ve seen it, haven’t we, Charlie?”  
“Yes.” She trusted the grey in his hand, and he drew two circles first and an orange “v” shaped line for the nose.  
Tessa tilted her head to take a better look. “That’s a snowman?”  
“Of course, don’t you see it?” He turned the paper to her.

She threw her head back and laughed hard. “Poor Olaf”  
“Do it then.” Scott challenged her.

Charlie pushed her paper in front of Tessa, and she focussed on doing the best snowman she ever did.

“Look, dad, it’s Olaf!”  
“I can see it, baby.”

Tessa shrugged and gave him a smug smile. “Don’t challenge me, Moir. I like winning.”  
“That makes two of us.”

His daughter found herself a very cosy spot in Tessa’s lap and forgot her old Dad. But he was more than ok with that view.

Their dinner came and gone, and Charlie never left her place, neither Tessa wanted to let her go. Charlie smelled of vanilla and a comforting scent that made Tessa want to hug her tightly and bury her nose in the thick black waves. They had drawn an entire spring garden among the autumn picture, with Olafs and snowflakes scattered around. Charlie raised the picture to him “Look what we’ve done, dad.” She was beaming with pride.  
“It’s beautiful! We should take it home and put in your art mural.”  
“Yes!” She nodded.  
“Now eat your fries, it’s getting cold.” She obeyed, taking a bite of the potato smiley faces.

Tessa got distracted by the constant buzzing sound from her phone and took a look at her screen, her finger itched to unlock the screen and reply to the messages. It was a heavy mix of work-related stuff and social media notifications and she was mildly addicted to both.

“I’m gonna call you Ms busy from now on.”  
"Uh? Oh. Sorry, I really can’t shut it down.”  
“Is it work?”  
She nodded “I’m publishing a book in December, and I’m trying to arrange the schedule of the press events to work around my classes at the rink.”  
“What is this book about?”  
“It’s an autobiographic thing. Silly, I know.” Tessa said quickly.  
“I don’t think so; your story is quite inspiring, your career itself is a very good narrative. 5 Olympic medals? You should be proud.”  
“You know something about it.” She raised an eyebrow to him, daring.   
Scott smirked, “Google is a nice resource, have you checked your Wikipedia? It’s quite detailed.”  
“I’m addicted to Instagram, and I use Twitter often, but I try to not see about what people talk of me apart from these two sources and the interviews I give; the internet can be pretty ruthless sometimes.”  
“I know what you mean, I’m not a fan of these things, but I keep an eye nowadays because I don’t want any bullshit popping with Charlie on It. I’m way more discreet than I was four years ago."  
“You had quite a reputation back in the day…” She mentioned, and he got intrigued about how much she knew about him before Charlie.  
“I was a wild child with lots of money and a huge ego. But then parenthood happened.” Nowadays he lived to be a man that Charlie would be proud to call 'Daddy'.  
“The ego still exists." Tessa pointed.  
Scott shrugged "I can't change that much."

______

 

By the end of the night, when they got to her car, Tessa hugged Charlie first "I had so much fun tonight, thanks for inviting me."  
"Me too." they parted and Tessa saw Charlie reaching for the drawing Scott was holding to give it to Tessa "you can have this."

Charlie made her speechless. Tessa looked at the colourful drawing with a fuzzy line that was supposed to be Charlie’s signature beside hers; she swallowed her emotions, looking at Charlie’s eager eyes. Tessa kneeled down grabbed the paper carefully to kiss her on the cheek. “Thanks, sweetie, I'll put it in a very special place."

Scott watched the two of them, with a mix of amusement and cautious. Charlie was growing very attached to her teacher, and he feared for her and the innocent expectations she was building towards her. Her fragile self-esteem would not survive being forgotten by Tessa.

He didn’t know much about her on a personal level, and until now his gut feeling and all the interactions he witnessed between them were good enough for him to trust her with Charlie. But he needed more, for his daughter and himself. He wanted to know this Tessa Virtue who drew with his daughter and genuinely cared for her, not the one in the stiff posture over the ice and the bright costumes. He wanted to see her dishevelled, barefoot in his kitchen, spotting a blush on her cheeks from the fine wine he would stock for her and the kisses he would steal from her lips.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Tessa interrupted his thoughts, dipping her hand in her purse to take a small rectangular box shaped object from there. “This is a portable charger; I must have a dozen of them at home, I thought you'd make better use of this than me; that way you won’t run out of battery and Charlie will always be able to reach you. Just remember to charge it and carry with you.”

Scott looked at the thing in this hand, still not fully capable of forming a thought that didn’t include Tessa all cosy at his home.

“You know, your fancy car must come with USB ports too.”  
He looked at her, making an effort to form a coherent sentence. “It does, I just never find a freaking cable when I need it.”

Tessa rolled her eyes, but secretly, Tessa found it cute how he was so oblivious to the wonders of technology.

There was a moment of awkwardness between the two of them; it was easy to give Charlie a hug and a kiss on the cheek, but how Tessa should say goodbye to Scott? Surely a goodnight kiss was not an option. Was it?

“You better get going, it’s getting cold.”  
“Yeah.” And Charlie needed to go to bed, without a doubt she would be asleep by the time they got home. “Thanks for the company, Tessa.”  
“You’re welcome; I meant it when I said I had fun.”  
“I know,” Scott said, his voice dropped a notch and his eyes focussed entirely on her, sending shivers down her spine, though she never felt more heat floating under her skin.

 

* * *

 

When Scott got home, he put Charlie to bed with a goodnight kiss and got to the first floor of his suburban house. Scott opened his well-stocked fridge to grab a beer and moved in the darkness to his TV room.

Plopping down in the huge dark blue sofa, he looked at the muted image of his favourite sports channel. Scott took a swing of freezing cold drink to try to stop the trail of fire the thoughts were leaving behind; in his mind, there was no space for anything other than Tessa Virtue. 

Day after day, he was getting more used to the idea of her in their lives.

Ever since the first time he saw her, he didn't feel the need to be with any other woman, and this fact alone screamed at him. He wanted her, and only her. A new conquer? No. Not this time. She was not like that. 

But he would keep the things light between them and give her time to get used to the idea. His number one priority was to keep a good relationship with her for Charlie's sake and maybe, just maybe, they could find some other things in common too. 

With the phone in his hand, Scott typed Charlie’s birthday followed by 'leafs' in the password field of his Instagram account and quickly saw his ancient avatar on the first screen. that was the easy part

Scott searched for 'Tessa Virtue' and hit 'follow' before he scrolled down to see her pictures.

There were a couple of pictures from her Nivea partnership, and many candids from her time in Asia doing shows. Occasionally, she would post a photo from the last years Olympics with the _#tbt_ hashtag. But it was her in an oversized Canada hockey jersey in the middle of the rink that made his face split in a huge smile. He gave a like without a second thought.

> _@tessavirtue followed you back_

A notification popped on his screen; apparently she sent him a message in the app too.

>  T:  _ _I see you’re on Instagram too_.  
>  _
> 
> _S: I’m now. Nice pics._ Scott quickly typed a reply.
> 
> _T: Thanks_
> 
> _S: So, you’re a hockey fan?_
> 
> _T: I’m Canadian, of course I’m a hockey fan_
> 
> _S: Interesting_

She replied with an emoji looking like an eye roll.

> _S: What about we watch a game next Saturday? the best seats in the house. I hope you're a leafs fan too_

Tessa started typing, and stopped, then typed again.

> _T: I’m free Saturday_
> 
> _S: Is that a yes?_
> 
> _T: Yes, Moir_

Being unfamiliar to that thing, he spent an absurd amount of time looking through the emojis section, to find one that matched his content smile in real life and send her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! 
> 
> Apparently, Scott's podcast and all the "I want to have a family" talk fed me with enough inspiration to write a full chapter in one day. I'd love to hear what you guys think of it! 
> 
> Thank you so much for your support and the awesome comments, they really mean a lot to me! 
> 
>  
> 
> Just a quick ps. sorry about the mess the last chapter was, I was in such a hurry to update that I didn't do a proper read through. That said, if anyone wants to volunteer to proofread the chapters before I post it, it would be awesome :) You probably know by now that English is not my first language and though I normally go over my writing many times, I always let something (or many things occasionally lol) slip.
> 
>  
> 
> Twitter: claire_smh


	7. The grown-up date

 

The kitchen around Scott was as impressive as his; the stainless steel countertops and an industrial size cooktop were the stars of the room. His was just well equipped, but the difference was the feminine touches here and there.

There was a shelve with colourful cookbooks, right by the stacks of delicate porcelain. The tea towels were not like his plain white ones, they had seasonal themes on them. And Halloween seemed to be a thing now in the Weaver-Poje household.

Kaitlyn was by the sink, filling the kettle with one hand and holding a baby boy with the other. She was an incredible woman and a superb mother; Scott had a profound admiration for her. Andrew was lucky to have found her and intelligent enough to make his wife before anyone else could snatch away from him the owner of those green eyes and golden coloured hair.

“Do you want some coffee? I can make you some.” She was having tea for herself

“Nah, I’m good. Give me Harry here, I miss having baby cuddles” He reached for the baby, and she passed her wide awake son easily; the boy loved his honorary uncle.

“He can’t seem to settle for the playpen nowadays, or the stroller.”

“He has too much energy to keep still, don’t you big boy?” The big green eyes looked up at him for a moment just to get distracted by a bright red toy forgotten in the small table. Harry threw his body forward, trying to catch it and letting out a series of loud protests when he couldn’t reach.

Different from his brother in the same age, he was indeed a big boy; the blue jumpsuit he wore was nicely filled by heath baby fat, and his chubby hands opening and closing trying to grab the toy a couple of feets away were probably the softest thing Scott had ever seen, apart from Charlie herself in the same age.

“Easy there, boy.” Scott grabbed the toy and sat by the table with Harry on his lap, supporting the boy easily with one arm. “How’s Matt?”

Kaitlyn moved around, reaching for the mug in a high cabinet. She wore a pair of leggings and a grey shirt reaching the middle of her thighs. “He’s taking a nap, but he’s better. The worst has passed.”

“Thank fucking God, I hate to see him so poorly.”

After putting the tea bag in the mug, Kaitlyn turned to Scott, leaning her hips against the counter. “I know, I was so scared.” Scott gave her a sympathetic look. “Thanks again for coming to our rescue.”

“I’d be really pissed if you hadn’t called.”

Kaitlyn smiled, he was a great friend. She looked at the baby, pushing the buttons on a mini keyboard - she was quite glad that toy had run out of battery, to be honest, and to the man behind him. She had known him for almost 10 years now, Scott and Andrew were a close unit since they were two young boys dreaming about being in the Toronto Maple Leafs. They both got in, first Scott, then Andrew.

She was a college student and had been living in Toronto for a year when he met the dynamic duo in a bar close to the Univesity. Those two looked - and acted - like trouble, but deep down, they were just kids living a dream. She got married to Andrew 3 years after, and Scott was Andrew’s best man; when she had Matt, it was natural to choose him as his godfather.

Even before Charlie came into his life, she knew he’d be a great father someday. He was caring and protective, his family was amazing and had taught him great values, and he loved his nieces and nephews so much. The Manwhore Scott never fooled her.

“You and Charlie could come around and we could watch the game here. I’m not gonna risk taking Matt to the rink, but it’s ok for Charlie to be around him by then.”

“Uh, I’m going to the game on Saturday.”

“That’s great, the team will be happy to see you there. And I bet Charlie misses going to the rink.”

“Charlie is going to stay with Ms Wright. I’m taking a friend to the game on Saturday.”

“A friend?”

“A woman friend.”

Kaitlyn rose an eyebrow. “Who is she?”

“Do you remember Charlie's coach from the skating program?”

“Ms Virtue? You mean Tessa Virtue?”

“Why everyone knows her, but I didn’t until she became Charlie’s coach?”

“Becuase she’s awesome, and I love figure skating, you know.”

“Yeah yeah.”

“How come I didn’t know about you two earlier?”

“I only asked her out last week.”

“She’s not really your type.” Kaitlyn pointed, still intrigued by this new info.

“Do I have a type?”

“You like boobs.”

“I’m a man, of course I like boobs.”

“No, I mean big boobs and curves. Tessa Virtue is quite lean from what I can remember.”

When he didn’t reply with a snarky comment, Kaitlyn squinted her eyes a bit. “You like her, it's not about a type.”

He shrugged, “she’s is good for Charlie.”

“Ms Wright is good for Charlie.”

“She’s 64 years old, Kaitlyn.”

“Hey, this is a judgement free zone, if you’re into older women, I don’t see a problem. But you get my point.”

“Whatever.”

“Don’t get grumpy, I’m just surprised by your choice.”

Scott looked at the clock, “look, I need to go pick up Charlie and take her to the rink, I just stopped by to see how you’re doing..”

“Okay.” Scott gave Harry back to her and dropped a kiss on the baby’s head. “You can bring Charlie over on Saturday, Matt will be happy to have her around.”

“You’ll be alone with three kids?”

“I already have two. Besides, Charlie gives no trouble.”

He considered for a moment, it was not as if she hadn’t watched the three of them before. “It might be good for them,” he agreed, kissing her cheek. “Thanks, you’re the best.”

“Only one condition.” She raised a finger. “I want to meet her.”

He turned around and waved to her, “goodbye Kaitlyn.”

Andrew would meet her on Saturday, she would make sure he got a good look on her to report back. “Do you think your uncle finally is going to settle down buddy?” He looked back at her, tilting his head to the side. “God, you’re just too cute.” Kaitlyn squeezed him, giving a nosy kiss on his cheek. “Let’s check on your brother.”

She gathered the teacup and went upstairs to her older boy’s room.

 

* * *

 

"What are you doing again?" Tessa heard Jordan through the Facetime call. The phone was up against her jewellery box in the vanity table.

"We are going to watch the game tonight."

"Nice, I hope he at least is a Leafs fan.”

"He is" Tessa was glad she was away from the phone, putting a dress on, and Jordan wouldn't pick the hesitation in her voice.

"Did he say what's the name of the bar?"

"Uh, no." She never told her sister they would go to the arena.

"Tricky," Tessa passed by the phone, already with a grey mid dress on, to pick the shoes on the opposite wall. "I'd wear that black boots of yours, the ones with short heels.” She was right, that was an excellent choice.

Tessa sat by the vanity, pulling her hair in a messy bum, taking it out of her face to do her makeup "When are you going to give me a face to Charlie's Dad? I don't get this mystery."

"It's very casual, I don't want to get your expectations high." And mine, Tessa thought.

"Sis, you've been hanging out with him at least 3 times a week now, I know you don't date a lot, but his intentions are pretty obvious."

"It's not like that, there's Charlie, she's in my class, and it's delicate." Jordan rolled her eyes. "Is it cold enough to use a leather jacket?"

"Don't change the subject, Tessa, and I'm not giving up. But yes, use the leather jacket, it's cute."

"Hi, Tess," Ben's face popped by her sister's, getting his blazer from the back of the chair Jordan was sitting on. "Looking nice."

Saved by the in law.

"She's going to watch the game tonight with someone," Jordan pointed, looking up at him.

"Oh, do I know him?"

"He goes by Charlie's dad."

"The little girl from the skating club?"

"Did you tell him?" Tessa asked, almost surprised, but really, she wasn't. Ben was family, and Charlie was a hot topic among them, probably because she couldn't stop talking about her.

"He heard mom and I talking in the office during a coffee break, I just filled in the blanks,” Jordan shrugged; they hardly kept things from each other, between working and living together there was not much space for it. And they enjoyed sharing all the bits and pieces with each other.

"Jay, we need to go," Ben said, pinching her butt and dropping a kiss to her shoulder. "Have a good night, Tess."

"Fine." she looked back at her sister when Ben walked away. "Text us the scores, I doubt this place we're going will have a TV."

"Only if we're winning,” Ben shouted in the back, “If we lose I don't wanna know."

God, he was such a dork, Jordan smiled, her dork. “Have fun, little sis."

"You too."

"You look hot. Give Charlie's dad a kiss, for me." She winked and waved to the screen before ending the call.

She put her phone down to finish her makeup - Tessa still had half an hour before Scott would pick her up, and heard the phone vibrating with a notification "What now, Jordan?" Tessa mumbled and looked down where @ScottMoir poped on the screen.

She felt a soft tingling under her skin and the delicious anticipation.

Not only they had been exchanging messages through Instagram, but now her camera roll was now filled with pictures of Charlie trying every filter she could, and sometimes, her dad also made an appearance. She kept those too.

In the newly received picture, Scott was in front a full-length mirror, wearing a Blue Team shirt, and the tag said:

_I have a date with a pretty girl tonight, I'm wearing my lucky jersey, just in case._

So cheesy and yet, so soft. Tessa was not going to reply, but she kept staring at the picture and took a screenshot, just because...

 

* * *

 

By 7:59 he was pulling in front of her building.

"See, on time." Scott mocked, looking ridiculously handsome in his Leafs jersey and dark jeans.

Tessa glared at him.

"Hey,” he flashed her an easy smile. “You look nice, Ms Virtue.”

"Thanks, you too."

No matter how much product he put on his hair, there was always a single strand dropping over his forehead in a perfect curve, how could something so ordinary could be so sexy?

Too early for it, Tessa. There was still a whole date to go through.

“Is Charlie with a sitter?” She asked when he made a soft turn left at the end of her street. His car was quite nice, leather seats, fancy panel and a car seat in the back to add the final touch.

"She's with Kait, Matt's mom. Andrew is playing tonight, but she thought it was better to keep their oldest home and volunteered to watch Charlie. The girl didn't even give me a proper kiss when I left." He sounded actually hurt.

”How's the boy?"

"He's getting better," Scott looked at her for a bit longer at the traffic light; she was particularly stunning that night wearing her hair down and something that made her eyes pop. The deep red lipstick was new, he never saw her wearing something other than her natural colour balm.

"I'm glad." She said, and he turned back to the street ahead.

There was soft music on the radio which sounded like John Mayer to her, convenient. The heater made her feel all cosy and fuzzy or maybe was the fact she had Scott by her side, and they were going on a first date.

 

* * *

 

When they got to the Scotiabank Arena, he let her walk in front of him to put a hand in the small of her back, keeping it there for good measure. She was super aware of his fingertips brushing her waist under the leather jacket and over the cotton dress, and at the same time, it made her want to lean into his touch and get closer to him.

Tessa let him guide her and Scott directed her to the Suite on the top of the stands. She heard a loud whistle and felt Scott's hand slip away from her.

“Scott!” Steve called.

“Hey man!” they patted each other's backs, and Scott stepped back “This is Tessa, Tessa this is Steve, he keeps the Leafs on good terms with the Media.

“We’ve met.”

Tessa nodded. “During Vancouver.” He was head of communication to the Canadian Olympic Committee when she won her first gold.

“Good to see you again, congratulations on your two golds in Pyeongchang, well deserved.”

“Thank you.” She smiled politely, seeing the questions circling around in the man’s head when he looked between her and Scott; and she went rigid inside, keeping the faced the years of media training had taught her.

The path to their seats could easily be a fast walk, but it took way longer than Tessa expected. Each time they had to stop to say hi to someone Tessa cringed, making a conscious effort to keep the polite smile plastered on her face. For someone who had lived more than 20 years under de bright spotlight of the media surrounding figure skating and her career, she often just wanted to mingle and be a commoner whenever she could. Scott really liked the attention, she could see it. His charisma and the way people idolised him made his chest puff out, and the smile grew larger and brighter.

Then there were all those beautiful women calling him Scotty and pushing their sculptured bodies against him in a hug that took way more than it would be acceptable for casual acquaintances.

“Hey” Scott reached for her hand for the first time, and her eyes were drawn to her small hand in his. “Are you ok?” He asked.

She looked up at him, and he had this deep crease between his eyebrows. “Sorry, I don’t usually go out with the Maple Leafs Golden boy.”

Tessa forced a smile, and it hit him right in the gut. She didn’t know him through hockey and his life as a player, she had met Charlie’s dad, not the Number 14 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He quickly fell into old habits when he was back at the Arena alone, because truth to be told, he missed that life sometimes.

"I thought we'd have more privacy here." He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. Scott wanted her to have a good night, and maybe get to know each other away from the dad and teacher roles. "We could go somewhere else if you want?"

Tessa shook her head, "No, it's fine."

He looked around, seeing the premium seats and the luxury booth, perfect for someone who wanted to have a social with the game in the background. Truth to be told, you couldn't get all the excitement from the game when you were up there.

“Come.” He pulled her hand and walked all the way back, descending the stairs to reach the seats in the lower level. He only stopped twice to exchange a couple of words with a staff member to make sure there were two seats available in that section.

“Does these seats sound good?”

“Great.” Now he got a genuine smile.

Scott bought them hot dogs, and he discovered she was not a fan of beer, but she could take it. Tessa liked her hot dog with only mustard while he always put a handful of toppings. Little by little, he saw Tessa taking her guards down as the game progressed and she showed him she could be a very enthusiastic fan.

When the game had begun, Scott reminded himself he was on a date, and he had to try not to curse as much as he would when he was watching hockey away from Charlie. But then there was this woman who was the image of composure and manners in his head cheering noisily by his side. For once in his 32 years, he found it difficult to concentrate on a Hockey game.

“Oh, fuck off, that was nothing. Boo!” Tessa screamed to the referee halfway through the game when Trevor was being sent to the penalty box for five minutes, and they were loosing.

He looked at her in shock, disbelief and amusement all at the same time.

“What?” She looked at him when she realised he was staring.

“You are a fan,” Scott said, he could barely close his mouth.

“I told you I liked hockey.”

"You're a Leafs fan." He was picturing her in a Leafs jersey and oh God, he was not going this.

She shrugged with a mischievous grin and Scott raised a brow at her. Tessa ignored him, getting her attention back to the game in time to see the number 23 score.

“YES!” She raised both her arms, celebrating.

That was his buddy Andrew scoring again, and Scott cheered just as loud, hugging Tessa sideways in an impulse, and after a brief moment of confusion, she laughed and leaned into him.

That was fun, Tessa thought

 

* * *

 

“Great game,” Tessa said to Andrew, this tall leam man, now dressed in jeans and a black shirt post game. He ran a hand through his wet hair from his post-game shower, wearing a winning smile.

“Thanks, you must be Ms Virtue.”

Tessa looked at Scott in a beat, and he raised his open palms. “I didn’t say a thing.”

 _Liar_ , Andrew thought. Scott was so noisy, he went straight to Kaitlyn to tell her about Tessa, and his wife had actually sent him a list of things he should watch about those two.

“Charlie talks a lot about you.” Andrew threw a look at Scott over Tessa’s shoulder. _Saved your ass this time, mate._

“Ah, right.” She felt the warmth reaching her cheeks.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Andrew threw a friendly smile on her way.

"Same." Tessa reciprocated.

They were gathered with the team after the game had ended. Beers were passing, cute kids running around sporting mini Leafs shirts, wives and girlfriends bragging about their men and Scott walked around as a member of the team.

Seeing him in that environment, his easy laugh and how comfortable he was with them, made Tessa question about why he wasn't playing if he loved it that much. He was still young, and she knew he was a superb player.

Trevor joined their talk, offering them a drink, Tessa thanked him, and Scott shook his head. “Thanks, I’m driving.”

“Come on, Scotty.”

"Nah, I'm fine." He crossed his arms, leaning towards Tessa until their shoulder bumped "it's getting late, I need to rescue Charlie from Kait."

"Hey." Andrew pointed a finger at him.

"You mean Kait from Charlie?" Tessa asked.

"No, you heard it right, my kid is a saint, Kaitlyn is probably energising her to a point it will be humanly impossible to put her to sleep."

Tessa looked at Andrew, not sure how he would take it. "It's probably true." He said, shrugging. "I should get going too," Andrew added.

He was dying to go home and celebrate the victory with his family. Matt had called him as soon he entered the locker room, and the excitement in his voice truly made it all a hundred times more special, so did the soft and cheerful way his wife congratulated him.

Scott walked around saying his goodbyes, and Tessa followed him. Strangely enough, among that group she didn't feel the stares and the judgement, possibly it was because they were all wrapped in post-victory bliss to look twice at her, but a thought hit her before she could move on: maybe they were probably too used to see Scott with a different woman each time they saw him.

She could do casual too - couldn't she?

"Are you ready to go?" Tessa nodded.

He reached out for her hand but she held the shoulder strap of her small purse, and his knuckles brushed against the back of her hand. Ok then, he thought, intrigued.

Scott presumed they had gotten rid of the awkwardness during the game, but apparently he was wrong.

When they exited the room to walk along the mostly empty corridor, Scott tucked his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "Did you like the game?"

"It was really fun," Tessa replied sincerely. "Thanks for inviting me."

"Anytime." And he meant that, he loved her company. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun in the Arena as a spectator.

"Do you come to the games often?"

"Not much nowadays, I bring Charlie a couple of times during the season, but we watch it from home mostly. "

"Got it. You looked like you belonged in there, you know?"

"I did, once. I still fucking love it and I miss it from time to time, but when I retired, I had very clear in my mind why I was doing it, and I never looked back."

"Can I ask you why you did that?"

"I was the only parent Charlie could count on after her mother left when she was a couple days old. And if I had any doubts until then, I had to man up for her. I knew she was not only my responsibility, but I needed her as much she needed me. I needed her to be happy, to feel cared as my own parents did to me and I'd go to the ends of the earth to make sure she had everything. I had enough money and made some solid investments. She wouldn't care about it as long she was fed and her diapers were clean - I've learned it soon enough, but Charlie would miss my time and my love if she didn't have it. I'm a very committed person, Tessa, when I trained, I dedicated my life to it, I lived and breathed hockey, and I was the best I could be. Now I dedicate my life to Charlie and God, nothing ever made me happier than that."

Tessa felt every word he said. Beyond their meaning, she felt the love pouring from every fibre of his being, it was in his eyes and in the serene expression she saw on his face. He didn't need to think about those words because it came from the heart.

He was a father, it was who he was. He was not a player, not anymore. Maybe part of him would always shine brighter among his former teammates and in the home to his childhood dream, but at the end of the day, he would go back to her. He would make sure she knew how much she was loved and cherished.

It hit home, and for a brief moment, it reminded herself of her own miserable relationship with her father, but instead of the self-pity, the emotional prevailing was admiration. The girl who had stolen her heart and awakened a very complex and still partly unknown feeling on her had a man who would never let her feel anything other than loved.

To her selfishness as a living and breathing woman, his words had embraced her in a thick coat of lust and want; there was something about these many facades she was beginning to uncover from him, Scott was fun, caring, sexy and obviously so, so handsome... The things she wanted to do to this man were not exactly PG rated.

She cupped his face with both hands, and Scott felt her soft touch and deep down in his belly, closing his eyes for a moment to take in the little moment.

He circled her tiny waist with both his hands, eager to touch her. “God, why I didn't meet you before?" Scott groaned, voicing his thoughts.

“We did, or I met you, in Sochi.”

“Sochi?” He frowned. Uh oh.

She nodded.

“I’m not that man anymore, Tessa.”

“I can see it.”

The door to the elevator opened, and Scott quickly pushed them inside, rotating around to pin her body against the cold mirror.

He put a hand on each side of her body and leaned in until they breathed the same air “Can I?” She could hear the teasing and the cocky smile in this voice, but she was too far gone.

“Please.” She sighed, parting her lips.

He closed his mouth over hers, holding her chin softly; the slow peck on the lips made her raise her chin up, wanting more. He did again, and again, until she closed a hand over his neck, pressing his mouth over hers, so impatient, so sexy.

The elevator door opened, and he grabbed her hand, when he heard other voices and walked quickly to his car, The parking lot was quite empty there and pulled her to his arms, leaning against the column beside his vehicle. Tessa circed her arms around his neck, brushing that stubborn strand of hair falling over his face, finally she could do it.

She nested her body against his, positioning herself between his legs. Scott squeezed her impossibly closer to him, assaulting her mouth in the most delicious way. Tessa forgot where they were and time vanished from her conscience, she could easily be there forever, feeling every inch of his body touching hers.

They were a perfect fit, he could tell.

Scott heard footsteps approaching and had to force himself away from Tessa. The moment he parted away, she began hearing it too and hid her flushed cheeks against the crook of his neck.

"Should I tell Kait to make Charlie's bed at our place?" Tessa heard Andrews voice followed by the sound of a car being unlocked close by.

Tessa didn't see Scott flipping him the middle finger, but she heard when the car was gone.

"Oh god." She whispered.

"Yeah, we were caught." He muffled a laugh against her hair, "don't worry, Andrew is harmless."

He couldn't say the same thing about his wife though. Scott wouldn't be surprised if Kaitlyn woke him up with an extensive list of questions about his date.

Tessa finally looked up at him, with a neon blush on her cheeks and big foggy eyes. It was a mist of embarrassment and desire, her hair was a bit messy from his hands, and her once immaculate red lipstick was smudged around the edges of her swollen lips. Scott kissed her again just because it was humanly impossible to resist.

"We really should get going, it's way past Charlie's bedtime," Tessa said, interwinding her fingers with his.

She was right. "Do you want to come to pick her up with me? It's on our way to your house, and she'd like to see you." Seeing her face get even more flushed and contort in a grimace by the perspective of meeting Andrew again so soon, he added with humour: "you don't need to get out of the car."

"Sounds good." She would never say no to see her as much as she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! 
> 
> Charlie didn't make an appearance in this chapter, but, Dad Scott needed some adult time. Next chapter we're back to our normal Charlie cuteness. 
> 
> What did you think of their first date?
> 
> This chapter was usually big, I guess it's to compensate de lack of regular updates lol but I'll post asap, I promise :) 
> 
> I LOVED reading your comments for the next chapter, I'll reply to them as soon as I hit 'send' on this chapter. Thank you so much for reading this fic and sharing your thoughts with me, you're the best! 
> 
> I hope you all have a great week!
> 
>  
> 
> Twitter: claire_smh


	8. Three is a magic number

The first thing Scott did when he woke up was checking his notifications. Ms Virtue had turned him into a text and social media man - truthfully, he only cared about the notifications involving the _@tessavirtue_ username.

He had posted for the first time in his Instagram story something that was not brand or ad content, it was the same picture he had sent her before the date, but the tag said. "I guess my lucky shirt still works."

Her answer through Direct had been short and cheeky: _Ha! Who got lucky, you or the Leafs?_

 

> _Both_
> 
> _Mostly me_
> 
> _I had a great time tonight_

 

> _Me too_

 

> _Let’s do it again_
> 
> _Soon_

 

> _I'd like that_

 

He sent a happy emoji face. Scott was getting used to those too.

 

> _Night, Tess._

 

Tessa replied with the kissy smiley face with a heart on the month. In the language of the internet, it meant more than just a friendly kiss, right?

He wanted to see her again, was it too soon? He wanted to text her good morning and see if she would like to have lunch with him and Charlie. Charlie barely saw her the night before, she was half asleep when they picked her up.

Scott threw the duvet aside (he couldn't care less when it hit the floor) and rolled out from the middle of his king size bed 

He never had to actually share a bed with anyone so he tended to take most of it during his sleep. Charlie had a phase in which she would always sneak into his room in the middle of the night when she was about 1 to 2 years old, and though he loved to snuggle with his daughter, his mom had insisted he needed to teach her to sleep in her own room and cut some of this dependency she had on him.

Fuck that, he had thought. If Scott could guarantee to be the only man Charlie ever got into bed with, he was more than ok with it. But Alma was very persuasive and managed to convince it was the best for her. That was when they had redone her room and turned into her own dream land.

He opened the door very carefully to not make any noise and saw Charlie soundly asleep in the middle of the white dossel bed with fairly light dropping around the sides and an obnoxious amount of stuffed animals lined in perfect rows in the bench by the feet of her bed.

Scott smiled to himself and stepped back, leaving her to sleep a little bit more. He went back to his room and threw some shorts and a shirt on, ignoring the package in the corner of his closet with brand new Nike clothing for him to wear - it was part of his contract. He would have to do some photoshoot in the next week and the videos for the social media next. Scott wasn't a huge fan of it, but it paid the bills and somehow fed his ego.

Funny, when he first got into the business, he loved the attention and the women that came with it; in the present, it was just a part of this other life he had. He still liked it, but his priorities had changed.

Entering the kitchen, Scott set the coffee maker first then opened the double doors fridge stuffed with everything from fresh fruits to frozen ready meals for the days they were in a hurry; he decided to make waffles for him and Charlie.

With the ingredients spreaded out on the counter, he picked one of the fancy knives from the block display in the corner where Charlie couldn't reach and started by slicing the strawberries. He also took the chocolate sauce from the pantry, It was Sunday, Charlie could have an extra quota of sweets.

He heard her marching down the stairs when he was finishing to put the last waffle on a plate.

“Good Mornin’, Daddy,” Charlie entered the kitchen wearing her yellow PJs, rubbing her eyes with one hand and caring a very worn out teddy bear in the other. Scott had to remember to sneak that thing into the washing machine when she was at school, he had been postponing it afraid Mr Ted would disintegrate.

“Morning baby.” He swapped her off her feet, planting a noisy kiss on her cheek. “Did you have a good night of sleep?”

Charlie nodded, and Scott brushed her tangled hair with his fingers. “Good! Are you in the mood for some waffles?"

She nodded again, more enthusiastically this time.

Scott placed her on the chair and took the two plates to the breakfast table close to the french doors leading to the backyard. Charlie sat her teddy in the chair between them as Scott topped her waffle with fruit and chocolate.

“More chocolate, Daddy.”

“That’s more than enough, missy.” She pouted and he added just a little bit more.

"Did you have fun with Matt yesterday?" He helped her to cut her waffle into small pieces and gave her the fork so she could eat on her own.

"Yes, he let me play with his cars and we watched uncle Andrew scoring. You saw him?" Charlie put a piece in her mouth; it was really good. "I like the waffles, dad" she smiled.

"Thanks, baby," Scott smiled back. "I did, I was at the arena yesterday, remember I told you Tessa and I were going there?"

"I want to go to the awena with Tessa too." She still fumbled with "r" sometimes. It was cute as hell.

"Arena." He corrected. “we had an adult date, but next game I promise to take you, ok?

"Kay." She paused, "I wanna see Tessa, dad."

"You'll see her tomorrow at the rink, baby."

"But I don't like to share her." She looked down, pushing a piece of waffle from side to side on her Mickey Mouse plate.

Scott reached for her across the table to brush a thumb over her cheek.

"Tessa is like Mrs Smith," he explained, mentioning her kindergarten teacher, "she has to give attention to everyone in the class."

"But Tess have dinner with us."

"That's after your class, baby. And that's because she's our friend too, isn't she?"

Her little head wobbled up and down "She's my most special friend."

"What about Tracy?"

"Tessa is my big friend. Tracy is little like me. It's different, daddy." Charlie clarified.

"I guess it makes sense. Tessa's a very special friend for me too."

"Can I see her today?" She insisted.

"Finish your breakfast and we can call her and see if she wants to do something today."

"Yay!"

Scott never saw Charlie finishing a waffle so quickly; she was a very careful and slow eater. As soon as she set her fork down, she jumped out of her chair and climbed onto her father's lap.  He rubbed his thumb where a bit of chocolate sauce smeared over the sides of her mouth and got his phone to text Tessa to see if it was ok to call her.

The moment he tapped on her picture, Charlie pressed the camera icon like she always did when they called Grandma Alma. Before he could press the red icon, Tessa answered, clearly not expecting to be seen. Her hair was a bit of a mess and she was still in a pair of polka dot PJs. But she smiled softly at them “Morning you two, quite early for a Sunday, uh?”

“Mornin’, Tess!” Charlie squealed, stealing the phone from her father’s hand.

“Hey,” Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“We are having breakfast,” the girl informed her.

“Nice! what are you having?”

“Waffles with chocolate!”

“Hm, sounds delicious.”

“And you?”

She turned the phone camera to show them the cup of coffee and a slightly overdone toast right by her opened laptop; she was working, Scott noticed. “Coffee and toast.” Charlie grimaced, and Tessa laughed softly. “Yeah, I prefer waffles too.”

“You can eat waffles with us.”

Tessa smiled softly at her, resting her chin on her palm. “What are you doing today?”

She shouldn't be making conversation with Charlie, since she still had a lot to do before the midday, but Tessa couldn't resist that pretty girl.

Charlie looked up at her father and he shrugged and she mimicked Scott, “I don’t know. Can we skate?”

“It’s Sunday, darling, your class is tomorrow.”

“But I wanna go skating.”

“Charlie,” Scott got her attention. “It’s Tessa’s day off today.”

“But she said we could go skating whenever I wanted.”

"It's true, I said that. I’m sorry, Charlie, the rink is closed today,”

Charlie's sulked and Scott felt her small shoulder drop, "what if we go out to lunch and invite Tessa?"  He was spoiling her rotten, but whatever, he wanted to see Tessa too.

“I can’t,” She said quickly, and it was Scott's who almost pouted now. God, they were each other's mirror. Tessa continued: “on Sundays, I have lunch at my mom’s.”

And she couldn't bail on them, her mom took their family lunch on Sundays pretty seriously and she already hadn't shown up in the last week because she had to catch up on work.

“Oh. Ok.”

“But,” She would like to see them too. “The Christmas market opened this Friday, I know there’s an outdoor rink there, would you be willing to wear a pair of figure skates, Moir?

“Yes, daddy, yes! Please?”

 

* * *

 

Tessa was on her knees, helping Charlie with her skates while Scott fumbled with the laces of his own. “Do you want some help?” She smirked.

“I’m good.” He grumbled, too concentrated to look up.

Charlie and Tessa exchange a look, chuckling,

“Hey, it’s not funny, I should have brought my own skates.” He could put his hockey skates with two eyes closed.

“When you finish, Charlie can teach you some basic moves, right?”

“I can!”

“Thanks, baby.” He glared at Tessa, she was having the best time on his account.

“Let’s go, Tess,” Charlie demanded her attention, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the Ice.

"Go on, I'll meet you there." Scott shooed them. He wanted to be left alone to figure those things out.

Scott stayed behind longer just watch Tessa with Charlie, skating around hand in hand. It was the joy of his week to see Charlie so confident and free around the ice and a plus to see Tessa having just as much fun with his daughter. 

They were all wrapped under heavy coats and thick scarfs; the lights crossing above the outside skating rink and the Christmas instrumental songs told him the holidays were just around the corner, and so was the winter. And Charlie was just a pair of hazel eyes in the middle of all that apparatus against the cold - better safe than sorry. 

When he skated towards them, Tessa gave him a head to toe look “You can pull ice skates pretty well." In other words, he looked hot. Tessa had grown very fond of the fitted jeans he always wore; the rear view was superb.

"Still prefer hockey skates, they are faster."

"I bet you can't do this in hockey skates" she took two strides away from them and gathered her arms close to her body in a super fast spin. Charlie looked at her in a powerful reverence.

"Show off," Scott told her when she ended it in an elegant pose.

And Charlie proclaimed ”I wanna do it too."

"I'll show how to do and you have to help me convince your dad to do it too, deal?” She winked at Charlie and she nodded.

"It can't be too difficult" Scott mumbled under his breath.

Tessa raised an eyebrow at him. “Try it then.”

“Teach me.”

Tessa went over on how to do a two-feet spin. The first attempt, he forgot he had a toe pick and tripped on his skates, opening both arms quickly to balance himself and prevent an ugly fall. Tessa covered her mouth with a hand and muffled a laugh.

“Do you laugh at your students, Ms virtue?”

“Never.” She squared her shoulders and got all serious, speaking as if he was one of her kids, “go on, you can do it, Scotty.”

He sent her a death glare.

“Again daddy!”

He managed two very wonky and slow turns.

“I think your dad is lacking strength. Should we give him a hand, Charlie?”

“Yes!”

“Position your feet parallel to your hips pointing forward” She instructed, patting his hips, just for demonstration purposes obviously. Scott raised an eyebrow, executing step by step under her command. “Brace yourself and focus on a point, we're gonna spin you around.”

Tessa put her hands on each of his upper arms, feeling the hard muscles under his coat. She looked up at him, brushing down her palms softly until she reached his elbows. Scott had no idea where the hell this was coming from but he was slowly uncovering a disguised minx under all that polished look. And he liked it. Very much.

"Ready?"

He nodded.

Tessa pushed each side to opposite directions to make him rotate around his own axis. "Can you help me, Charlie?" The girl used own little hands to give him a push in the same direction as if her father was a roundabout toy.

The streaks of lights around his peripheral view were a colourful blur and his focal point became a distinguished pair of green eyes and the happy laughter of his daughter.

“You did it, daddy.” He heard Charlie when Tessa held him, stopping his spin. Though he probably was way heavier than her, it was like holding him underwater because of the lack of friction between the ice and the sharp blades.

"I said I could do it."

"Of course" Tessa stepped back, and he felt just a little dizzy, but confidently took one stride forward, only he forgot he was not in the a hockey skate and went with the front of his blade first, meeting the toe pick again and facing the ice brilliantly.

"Damn, my mom would be ashamed of me."

“Are you okay daddy?” Charlie asked with concern.

“I'm fine sweetheart.”

He sat on the ice and looked over at Tessa who was 10 different shades of red trying not to laugh aloud in front of Charlie.

“Help me up, Ms Virtue?”

“Of course not, this is the oldest trick ever, Moir.”

“I'll help you, dad.”

“Thanks, kiddo.” He held her hand and pretended to use her as an anchor to get up.

They quickly lost track of time playing around together. Charlie was so good at ice skating, Scott could see a significant improvement on her skills since she started the classes and it made him so fucking proud. During Christmas time Charlie would kick her cousins' asses at Ilderton, she already could jump better than her father would ever attempt to.

When the soft dawn fell into the night, the rink started to get crowded and Scott noticed how Tessa got uncomfortable when Charlie asked her to perform a jump herself. She didn't like to draw attention to her when it was not necessary.

“We should have done something else, don’t you ever get tired of skating?” Scott asked, keeping an eye at Charlie who was wandering in front of them, lost in her own little world.

“Hardly, It’s easier than walking for me, trust me.” Tessa leaned casually into his side until their shoulders touched, keeping an eye on Charlie too. They had found a relaxed pace to go around the ice together, and Tessa couldn't describe the feeling of comfort and how it feel right to be there, the three of them. 

“I do.” He had witnessed her clumsiness more than once by now. It was adorable. He looked down at her, feeling the warmth of having her so close. Scott tilted his head down to kiss her, but instead, he whispers in her ear "I want to kiss you so badly”, and Tessa went all mushy. 

That raspy voice breathing in her ear? _Well, fuck me. Indeed._

But It didn’t seem right to kiss in front of Charlie. It was too early, wasn't it?  And neither one of them wanted to explain why Ms Virtue was kissing daddy on the mouth.

Cowards. 

He averted his eyes back to Charlie, brushing a hand over Tessa's waist. They both saw the teenager couple strolling close by and the young boy showing off how he could skate backwards, too distracted by a pretty girl's laugh to pay attention to where he was going.

Tessa was faster than Scott to pick Charlie and turn around putting her body between the girl and the errant skater. Charlie never noticed the imminent collision and Tessa spun her in the air as a distraction.

 _Oh shit_ , Scott thought, cursing those figure skates.

"It's getting a little too crowded here," Tessa said to Scott.

Charlie looked around as Tessa mentioned the surroundings and tightened her grip around her neck. Tessa found comfort in holding Charlie too.

“Should we have some hot chocolate?” Scott suggest.

The girls nodded in sync.

 

* * *

 

Tessa was late, and she was never late. But the number of things on her agenda was making a mess of her. She had a meeting that morning to discuss the events of the release of her book. It was Christmas season which meant she had to make the most of it and put it in the bookstores before everyone started to pack the shops in search for a Christmas present.

She had radio interviews, a couple of appearances in live shows and 3 magazine photoshoots, one would feature her new remodeled home and her Christmas ideas for decoration.

This was her favourite time of the year and her head was buzzing with ideas to execute, she just needed time - such a precious thing in her schedule. Tessa was barely managing to attend the classes at the rink, but she made the extra effort because she loved it, and because it was one of the few moments she could manage to see Charlie and Scott mostly. He had a lot on his plate at the moment too, so much that his mom was coming to Toronto to spend some time with Charlie and help him out for the week.

When she got to the store, she made an effort to leave all her non stop alerts in her head at the door to focus on that moment. Her sister was getting married in less and six months and they needed to find her a dress.

Kleinfeld was a dream in white satin. The walls were filled with the most beautiful bridal gowns in gold racks, there were delicate flowers carefully chosen for that day everywhere, filling the air with an soft perfume. And in between all that, she saw her mother sitting in one of the sofas, sipping on a flute of champagne and waiting patiently.

Kate Virtue wore one of her many two piece suits, with a soft dark blue blouse under the white jacket. She was in work mode, of course. It was a Wednesday and both her and Jordan had to escape the office to attend that appointment. 

The tips of her white hair brushed her jawline and the fringe touched the arch of her brows. If she was obsessed with fashion, it was her mom’s fault, she had quite a stylish role model growing up. And her heart swelled with love and proud to be the daughter of that woman.

“Tess! Finally.” She rose in her shiny mid heels and to engulf her in the best hug ever.

“I’m sorry I was late, mom, where’s Jordan?”

“It’s ok,” She kissed Tessa’s cheek and pulled her to sit by her side. “Jordan went inside already to try those dresses she liked the first time, she was quite anxious.”

They had gone to about twenty shops in the past two months, and Jordan still couldn’t find THE dress - perfectionism ran in the Virtues.

Tessa shrugged off her green coat and unwrapped the cream scarf from around her neck. Soon enough, she was offered champagne but politely refused, if she had had lunch she would have loved one glass.

Not before long, Tessa caught a glance at Jordan from the three parts full-length mirror in front of them. She looked back and there was jordan, walking towards them with this beautiful dress with a strapless bodice in a sweetheart neckline opening around the waist into the white the voluminous ball gown skirt. It was perfect, no beads or sparkle like she had requested, just some lace here and there.

“Hey sis, right on time.” Jordan winked at Tesds and positioned herself in front of the mirror.

“Sorry, J.” She rose to place a kiss on her sister’s cheek and looked at her through the mirror. “You look stunning,” she paused, “and you still don’t like it.”

“It’s really nice.”

“But you didn’t love it.” Kate Virtue completed. She was beautiful in anything she put on, including this dress, but it was missing her sparkle.

Her Jordan was a work-oriented woman, much like Tessa, and always sure of what she wanted. They had tried 38 dresses - she had counted, and this was one of the dresses she had classified as a maybe and wanted to come back to try again.

“Humf, this was supposed to be fun.” Jordan dropped her shoulders forward, trying to see something to love on this dress, but really, there wasn’t. She couldn't imagine herself walking towards Ben in it, it was just not like her.

Their wedding was supposed to be fun and unpretentious, just 100 of their closest friends and families in this outdoor venue they had found outside Toronto, and this dress had nothing to do with it.

“Do you want to try the others?” Tessa asked her.

“No.”

“Why don’t we take another look at the dresses, I have some new pieces that you might like.” The attendant, Rose, a very pleasing and cheerful lady, suggested.

The three of them went through the dresses, trying to find the one.

“So, have you decided if Charlie’s dad will be your plus one to the wedding?”

“Jordan, stop it.”

“Thanks mom.”

“We all know by the amount of time they have been spending together, he’ll be her plus one to _her_ wedding.”

“Mom!”

“Ha!”

Tessa and Jordan exclaimed at the same time.

“Seriously you two, can you please let me figure it out on my own?”

“We are, T, we’ve accepted your very weird condition about not even showing us any pictures of him until he passed your test,” Jordan pointed. “A test which I don’t trust because Fedor passed through it, and as his own names translates, he stinks."

“Jordan,” Kate glared at her oldest and Tessa ignored her, focussed on looking at the dresses.

“What? This Charlie’s Dad needs to go through my evaluation. I just need a name and I’ll do a full background check. I bet I can even figure out who is Charlie’s mom.”

Tessa shoved a dress in front of her nose and it did the trick, Jordan shut her mouth. “I like it.” She tilted her head sideways, “I really do.”

Of course she did, it was a boat neck, sleeveless dress with nothing but this white rich silk and a signature bow in the back.

“I’m not sure about the bow and the skirt.”

“Just try it,” Kate said.

When she came out of the changing room, her smile said it all. "I found it."

They knew, she looked radiant.

“I liked the structured skirt.” She turned around to take a look at the deep  cut in the back ending in a bow. “And the bow too.”

“You look stunning, J.” Tessa managed, feeling consumed by so many emotions.

“I feel gorgeous” she couldn’t take her eyes away from the mirror. “Can I call Ben and get married today?”

The three of them shared a laugh over happy, sappy tears as Kate hugged her younger daughter by the waist and Tessa laid her head on her mom’s shoulder looking at Jordan beaming with happiness; she had found her man. Now her dress.

 

* * *

 

Jordan indeed called Ben to tell him she had found it,  and they talked in whispers and smiles for good 10 minutes. Her sister deserved all the happiness in the world, and her happiness was a vital part of her own. Kate gave her the rest of the day off, being technically the boss, and insisted she took Tessa for a late lunch and the two of them made good use of the rest of their afternoon.

“I have to be at the rink soon.” Tessa reminded Jordan as she dragged Tessa around Hudson’s Bay, the department store.

“I bet your training clothes are in your car so you don’t have to go back home.”

“It is, but-”

“So you have more time to shop with me,” She was determined to get the name of Charlie’s Dad despite her mom’s explicit warnings to leave her sister alone. Tessa was still her little sister after all, “I need some new shirts.”

“You have about one hundred shirts, Jay.”

“I use them a lot.”

“Sure.”

“Let’s just-” Jordan pointed to her back.  

“Go, I’ll take a look at the dresses around here.” Not ideal, Jordan thought, but she really needed the shirts.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Jordan walked away, and Tessa continued to stroll through the aisles until she saw this very nice black chemise, she added it to her shopping bag. And the matching robe too. She looked around a bit more, and a deep green satin two pieces caught her eyes, and it’s really, really pretty, the price, not so much. But… she sneaked it into her shopping bag bellow everything. 

When was the time she had bought lingerie, by the way? Tessa asked herself.

Was it too early to be thinking about sex with Scott? Definately not.

She probably had it tucked in some secret spot in her head since the first time she saw him at the rink…Tessa blushed a little, having very sordid thoughts with Mr Moir. She looked around a bit embarrassed, but hey, no one could hear her thoughts.

Tessa spent some time wandering through the elegant laces and fancy satin to choose a couple more pieces, tucking them at the very bottom of her shopping bag. She managed to pay for everything before she found Jordan again with an armful of shirts of different colours and patterns, but still, only shirts “Really, J?”

She shrugged. “I’m gonna pay for them and then we can grab something to eat.”

Tessa was going to follow her when a call came through and she needed to pick it, “I’ll meet you at the exit, ok? I need to answer this, it’s about the book.”

“Kay.”

 

* * *

 

She had finished her call with another appointment marked on her calendar. Would she survive until Christmas day? She really, really loved Christmas, it would so annoying to miss it.

 While she waited for Jordan, she kept her phone in hand to check the time and be sure she wouldn’t be late for her class. And in case Scott texted her.

When his name crossed her mind he heard his voice from across the street. Oh fuck.

He walked to her with the smile that made her legs weak. "Hey, you." He said, kissing her cheek.

"Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Good to see you too, Tess.” She rolled her eyes to him and kissed him back quickly, “I went to the airport to pick mom and she wanted to grab a bite around here before we went to the rink. Then she got into shopping mode and Charlie won't leave her side.”

Scott looked down to her bags, someone else was in shopping mode too. “How was the thing with your sister?”

Tessa pulled the bags closer to her body, too aware of 5 sets of lingerie in it (and there were definitely not granny pants involved), that was not the way she wanted Scott to find about them.

“Good! She found a dress.” She was internally freaking out because Jordan would show up any minute now. “Do you know where your mom is? We could go meet them.”

“Mom’s phone ran out of battery.” _Oh really, was it some family thing?_ “I told I’d meet them in this corner in about one hour, I was looking around the toy stores to see if there was something for Charlie’s Christmas.”

_Great!_

He wanted to touch her, he really missed her face, and this was an incredibly new feeling to him.

"Oh dear, that line was endless," Jordan came out with an armful of shopping bags. "I'm doing all my Christmas shopping online this year, for sure." She raised her head when she hit send in the text she'd been typing and saw Tessa had company.

None other than Scott freaking Moir,

She looked between her sister and him and they were standing so close that their hands were almost touching.

"Tessa?"

"Jordan, this is Scott," Jordan raised an eyebrow, _I know who he is_. "Scott, this is my sister, Jordan."

"Nice to meet you," he smiled softly.

What the hell is going on, Jordan thought.

“Don't run, Charlie!” Jordan  heard to her left before she saw the blur of a mass running towards Tessa and wrapping a small pair of arms around her legs.

"Tess!" She smiled up at the woman.

Tessa looked up at Jordan and then to Charlie. "Hi darling!"

She crouched to be at her eye level and hug the little girl tightly. Alma joined the little group right after that.

"Hello, Tessa."

"Hi, Alma."

"We went to pick Nana from the Airport and now we are going to skate, right?

"Correct, I'll meet you at the rink."

 _Oh_. Jordan didn't even blink when she realised Scott Moir was Charlie's Dad.

"We should go, Scott, we still need to stop by your house before Charlie's class" Alma said.

"You're right." He turned to Tessa, but kept his distance, feeling there was something happening there. "I'll see you later?"

She nodded, dropping a kiss on Charlie's head, before she rose to her feet to say her goodbye to Alma and flash a smile to Scott, trying to ease the awkwardness. Jordan and Scott measured each other and exchanged polite words before he parted.

“Tessa, why didn't you tell me?” Tessa kept her eyes on Scott and Charlie walking away,

"Jordan, it's really nothing to worry about. We are just hanging out."

"Tessa, that is Scott Moir."

"I'm aware." she crossed her arms in front of her body.

"How can you be considering to have anything serious with him?"

“You were the one who said I should give him a chance."

"Yeah, because I thought you were overreacting without a reason, not because this was the Sochi Douche who banged half of the olympic female athletes, including your roommate, in the same night he drunk hit on you."

"It’s just a fling.”

"Bullshit."

"It's been 5 years, he has a daughter now."

"You should had told me sooner."

"First I was embarrassed about even considering I was really attracted to him after Charlie and Sochi, then I was afraid of your reaction when we started hanging out."

"First, you should never be afraid to tell me something. Second, Scott, Tessa. Really?" She was having a hard time believing in it.

She shrugged.

"Apparently, he's not that bad, not after Charlie."

"When did he have a kid?"

"Her birthday is on October the 8th. She's five"

"And you're sure she's his?"

"She's the spitting image of him, Jordan."

"Which means her mom was pregnant in Sochi, Tess."

"I did the math. But he seems to have changed. I swear, he had been treating me well and he's such a good dad, he can't be a total jerk."

"Good God."

She was her little sister who had zero experience in actual dating, but she was a 30-year-old woman who knew how to take care of herself. Mostly.

"I hope you're right, I really do "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ps: a fun fact, if you don't know it already, 'Fedor' in Portuguese means 'bad smell' lol
> 
> Hey! 
> 
> I said to myself I'd post this chapter today otherwise I'd keep adding things to it and editing... I was so happy to your response to their first date! There will definitely be more adult time from now on but Charlie is a constant in their lives and their relationship so you won't miss her. 
> 
> Sochi will be in the next chapter, probably a flashback, but you get the picture from the end of this chapter, right? There won't be heavy angst in it, just some drama. 
> 
> You still amaze with your comments to this fic, thank you so, so much. You truly make my day whenever I get a notification! 
> 
>  
> 
> I'm not promising anything, but, I'll try to update this weekend again, this fic is quite addicting to write. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
>  
> 
> Twitter: claire_smh


	9. Ignorance is (not) bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brace yourselves, the Sochi flashback is here

_In one hour, Tessa had counted about 23 marks on the ceiling of her room in the Olympic villa. There was a book by her night stand barely touched, she had fooled herself when she put 3 news books in her handbag thinking she would have time for them once the competitions were done._

_Well, she did, on her last day at Sochi. After countless press events and interviews, and though she was beyond grateful for everything she had lived in the preview days, she was exhausted._

_Tessa couldn’t concentrate on a single word, she kept going back to the previews line, trying to understand anything and failing miserably. She couldn't wait to go back home and have some down time. It had been an intense year, focussed solely on one goal: the gold medal. She endured so much since her first gold; Tessa had two surgeries due to compartment syndrome and still she never missed one day of training once the doctor cleared her to go back to the rink._

_She had moved to the US alone and spent most of her years separated from her mom and her sister. They had a life, running the law firm her mom had started after her father left them for his new family in the US. Funnily enough, he lived just 109.36 miles from her training base, closer than her mother. And she had zero interest in seeing him._

_Still, it wasn’t enough to get a gold medal. She now had two silvers, one from the team event and another from singles._  

 _Tessa heard a knock on the door and fought the urge to whimper; maybe if she stayed quiet, the person would go away. She waited, keeping very still on her bed, but her phone started ringing too._ Shit!

 _The name **Kat** flashed on the screen when she silenced the call._  

_“Open the door, Tessa." She heard after a second knock._

_She rose from her bed and went to the door. "Seriously, Kat?"_

_"I'm not letting you stay locked in your dorm on our last day at the olympics,” She passed by her and sat on the neatly made bed. “we're going to the Canada house, put some decent clothes on and a red lipstick. I'll be here waiting."_

_Tessa knew Kat since the last Olympics, she was on the Olympic Committee with Allie Grand and the three of them quickly bonded. She knew Kat would not let her stay in that night._  

_“Ok ok, give me a second.” She picked a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt and locked herself in the ensuite bathroom._

_“Where’s your roomie?” Kat asked out loud, looking at the rumpled sheets on the other single bed._

_“She left earlier today and didn’t go back.”_

_“She must be partying, like everyone else.” She pointed._  

_Tessa rolled her eyes while she put an extra coat of mascara on, and a bit of concealer under her eyes, before she applied the deep red lipstick._

 

* * *

 

Tessa was sitting in the middle of her living room, signing an incredible tall pile of books. Her publisher would send this items to the people who had helped her creating this, not only the book itself but her whole career. From trainers to photographer and even her metal prep coach, she wouldn’t be anything without them, professionally and personally.  
  
Athlete-Tessa and Woman-Tessa were always very intrinsically connected. Only know she was beginning to find her way in a path where her career was not the centre of everything.  
  
She heard the muffled sound of her phone ringing. Great, now she had lost her phone in that mess.  
  
Tessa dig between the folders and papers around her, feeling any surface  for something similar to her iPhone. “Don’t hang up, don’t hang up.” She mumbled, searching until she touched the pillow over her couch   to get up and it vibrated under her hand.

She picked up quickly and dropped herself on the sofa.

  
  
“Hello?”

“Hi, Ms Virtue.” She heard Scott’s voice and felt the now usual fuzzy feeling in the pit of the stomach.

“Hey,” Tessa replied softly,

“I was about to hang up. Bad time?” By now he knew Tessa kept her phone glued to her hand, unless something really important demanded her full attention.

“I lost my phone for a moment in this mess.” She looked around, her living room looked like a war zone.

“You made a mess? Are you ok?”

She chuckled weakly, “Funny.” Tessa leaned her head in the generous mountain of cushions by her side,  she was so freaking tired. 

“Grandma Alma is on duty today, do you want to do something? I have the night off.”  
  
Tessa really wanted to see him. But she looked back at the pile of books and the opened notebook with a huge ass checklist sitting next to her, mocking at her.  
  
"I do, but I have so much to do. And Lauren is having a small dinner party tonight to show off her new home.”

"Too bad, I really wanted to see those pretty eyes of yours."

  
  
An awkward feeling ran through her spine. Since Jordan mentioned it, Sochi memories were back full force to make her question everything related to Scott.

  
"Tess? You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry, I really need to go. Tell Charlie I said hi, ok?“

"Sure. Take care. And don't work yourself to exhaustion. "

 

Tessa rose from her seat and went to the kitchen, she needed a break. And chocolate.

 

* * *

 

_At a very crowded Canada house, there was red and white everywhere, from the decorations to the uniforms of the athletes. It was a true canadian celebration and the overall joy slowly crept under Tessa skin and made her relax as she passed the rooms, meeting her teammates._

_"You made it, Tess." Allie joined them in the main room, hugging Tessa while she held a bottle of Molsons._

_"Mission accomplished." Kat braged and high-fived Allie over Tessa's shoulder._

_They heard a commotion and Allie sighed, “Moir is in the house. God, I love the boys won this medal, but his ego has grown so much it’s impossible to breathe when you get closer than a mile from him."_

_Kat and Tessa had watched the men's hockey game together, she knew Tessa was a die hard Maple Leafs fan just like herself. And had a crush on Scott Moir, she surely cheered louder whenever he scored._

_"He is, uh?" Kat flashed a look at Tessa and Allie noticed. Kat had this absurd habit to play cupid, which worked for her and her boyfriend, but that was an exception._

_"Don't get any ideas, Kat."_

_"What, me? Never."_

_"Allie is right, if you even attempt to do anything that involves Scott Moir and I, I'll kill you."_

_"Buzz killer. Both of you."_

_"Come on, let's get a drink and ask whoever is in charge of the playlist to put some Hall and Oates." Allie glanced at Tessa and she smiled. She really loved Hall and Oates._

 

_A couple of minutes talking to the guy in charge of the music and an oldies playlist started rolling and it did the trick, Tessa even surrender herself to a bottle of beer as she danced around with the girls._

_Single skate was a very lonely sport and being a very driven person, Tessa had very little interest in other activities outside training which meant she lived 24/7 the heavy competitiveness and the high demand training. Constantly, se had to remind herself what was like to have fun and simply be a 24 years old woman._  

_She took the bottle to her lips and found it empty._

 

_“Girl, you are thirsty!” Kat joked._

_Tessa shrugged “Your fault. I’m gonna get another one, it’s our last day here, right?”_

 

_Allie winked at her._

 

_Tessa made a detour on her way to the bar to use the toilet quickly and when she got out, there was Scott Moir shoveling his tongue down a brown haired girl’s throat. She knew about his ventures post gold medal, but seeing it in person was very awkward._

_Even though they were both athletes, and probably had a couple of mutual acquaintances, he still had that appeal of a handsome man who belonged to her fantasies only._

_Whenever she went to a game or saw him, she felt compelled by his energy and the bright, easy smile tailored to make any woman drop her panties._

_And she preferred the illusion to witness that very public display of affection._

_Tessa walked past them, keeping her eyes forward at any price. She really didn't like drinking much but her throat felt so dry and there was a bitter taste in her mouth._

_She had a beer in one hand, leaning against the counter. Allie had asked her to wait there while she went to the toilet._

 

_"Hey, can I buy you a drink?" She turned around distracted to see who was it. And there was Scott, with his lips slightly strained with woman's lipstick and his hair spiking in every direction._

_You’ve got to be kidding me._  

_Tessa squinted her eyes, “beer is free here, ace."_

_“We could go somewhere else, then,” he learned on the bar, mimicking her position._

_“No, thanks.”_

_“Have anyone ever said you have amazing eyes? “_

 

_Tessa rolled said amazing eyes, unimpressed._

 

_“It's true,” he insisted, focused on them. “Why don’t you tell me what’s the number of your room, I’d love to look at those eyes for the rest of night.”_

_What. For a brief second Tessa pondered if Scott deserved a punch on his face or her attention at all. Nah, he didn’t deserve a thing. She was about to turn her back on him when a familiar face joined them._

_"Chiddy!" Patrick Chan whimpered when Scott pulled him in a side hug. Drunk or not, he was quite strong, and enthusiastic. "This is my roomate, have you met him?"_

_"Hey Chiddy,” Tessa smiled sweetly._

_“Nice to see you, Tess.”_

_“Wait, do you know her? How come you didn't introduce us, Chiddy?"_

 

_Patrick wasn't going to waste his time telling how they toured together for Stars on Ice, and Tessa was one of the best persons he knew, he doubted Scott would remember it in the morning._

 

_"I believe you've been requested in the other room, Andrew is winning in the beer pong."_

_"That little piece of shit, I taught him how to play this."_

 

_How easily distracted Scott could be after a dozen of beers?_

 

_"Let's go."Patrick pushed him away from the bar, flashing an apologetic smile at Tessa. She shook her head._

_"Don't worry, we've all had too many beers," she said_

  _He had done enough shows with her to know that she wasn't a party monster. "See you around?"_

 

_She nodded._

 

_"She has really pretty eyes." Tessa heard Scott saying to Chiddy as they walked away._

 

* * *

 

  
When she walked back into the living room hours later, the curtains opened let the city nightlights mixed with the yellow twinkling lights. Her Christmas tree had the classic red and gold decorations that year and she managed to put up in only a few hours. She was rather proud of her job.  
  
It was a fake tree but you could barely tell. Considering lack of fallen spikes around the base, and the fact she didn't need to water it, it was a reasonable choice. She would have a real one at her mom's, where she would spent her christmas days like always.  
  
She missed the smell, though. Her best memories had this soft perfume of pine from the Christmas her mom always dedicated herself to make sure it was even better than the last one. From the cooking to the decoration, no one could pull a Christmas like Kate Virtue.  
  
Putting on her little stud earrings on, she went to the tree and crouched down to the gifts neatly organised around the base. Mostly her Christmas shopping was done, she had been making lists of what to give her family and friends since october and she made the shopping way earlier because she knew the book would demand her full attention in the weeks before Christmas.  
  
She had bought a housewarming gift to Lauren, a fancy candle to add to Lauren’s collection. The Jo Malone package was right in front of the present wrapped in golden stars paper. The only one she had not planned, but became the focal point of her tree, Charlie's gift.  
  
Tessa was on her way to a radio interview earlier that week when she walked by this huge toy store. She had walked down that street about a hundreds times and never noticed it before. The front window had a true Christmas fest with electric trains, falling snow and reins pulling the life size Santa.  
  
In the corner, there was a Christmas tree with a variety of toys, one which caught her eyes and she couldn’t resist, after 10 minutes she got out of the store caring said package.  
  
Tessa got Lauren’s gift out and rearranged the others to fill the space, being extra careful with Charlie's.

________

Lauren’s home was filled with a bunch of people and most of them, Tessa didn't know, still she made a fairly good job mingling until she found a quiet corner, and installed herself there

At some point, Lauren spotted her and took a sit on the arm of her armchair. “Found yourself a hidden spot?”

“Guess it’s not a very good hide.”

She felt her cheeks hot from the warmth provided by the fire in the main sitting room, combined with the long sleeved black dress she wore and the red wine she sipped occasionally.

“I was looking for you. I want you to meet someone."

"Lauren..." She groaned

 

She tilted her head forward to where she was previously and Tessa followed her gaze to the two men chatting by the double doors leading to the dinner room. One was Peter, Lauren’s body in his classic professor look - a red sweater over the white crisp shirt and thick black framed glasses. And the other man had about the same posture, dressed more casually, but still very handsome in a primp way with slick gel over his perfect light brown hair. 

 

"He's Pete's colleague, I think you two would get along pretty well."

“He’s very good looking,” but Tessa didn’t sound very excited.

Lauren tilted her head slightly “I thought you were open to meeting potential boyfriend material.”

“I am- I was?”

Lauren threw her body to the said to get a better look at her face. "Was? Is there any update about the Mr Moir situation that you didn't tell me? Are you two dating now?"

"Dating? No." At least she didn't think so.

"So you're single, which means you can go out with other guys, right? You have to keep your options opened."

Right. 

_Right?_

She didn't know how to label what they had. It had been 3 months since she first saw him in the rink and from that day on, he never left her thoughts. Either because she was pissed at him at the beginning, or because he had sent her a random good night message the other night and made her smile like a fool.

Lauren introduced them and Tessa found out his name was Jake. He was a professor and a skilled PHD researcher which was very clear in the pleasing way he conducted their conversation. But Tessa found herself averting her eyes to the precise hair parting about ⅔ on his forehead and how it looked very stiff from the amount of hair gel on.

She could give him a chance. She could go out with other guys. Scott and her didn't have any settled rules. But the problem was, she didn't want to.

Tessa was able to escape early, claiming she had a morning show interview - which was true. Buy she could have stayed longer, it was not that late. And no matter what she tried, she couldn't sleep anyway, she was absolutely restless. She even put her phone on the table across from her bed to not succumb to the never ending scrolling of her Instagram account. Tessa tried reading a book or listening to soothing music, her go to tactics to fight her anxious mind.

 

“Ah fuck.”. She mumbled in the complete darkness of her room, throwing the duvet aside to walk across the think rug bare feet and reach for her phone.

 

She asked google: How to know if you and the guy are dating?

The first link was a Glamour article with the title _'_ **The Definitive Guide to Whether You Two Are Dating or Just Hanging Out'**

> **Hanging out:** If he makes plans on Friday for Friday, because ugh, planning, you know?
> 
> **Dating:** If he makes plans Tuesday for Friday, because in his love-struck eyes, you are worth keeping a calendar for.

Nope, apart from their Hockey date, everything was on the "what are you doing today?" basis.

In every thread they fit in the Hanging out category. But she had a perfectly reasonable motive for it. Like the fact their agendas were crazy right now and they couldn't compromise.

Next. 

A buzzfeed quiz: **What Kind Of Relationship Are You Actually In?**

She was a sucker for quizzes.

> **You got: Situationship**
> 
> You're not exactly friends and haven't defined what you have as a relationship. You're in a weird limbo somewhere between "friends with benefits" and an actual relationship, and it can get kinda confusing.

_Gee, thanks. Very helpful._

She made one last try, going for semantics. According to the dictionary she fitted in the second definition of _single._

> _Single (adjective)_
> 
> 1\. Only one;
> 
> 2\. Unmarried or not involved in a stable sexual relationship.

Then she looked for 'Relationship'.

> _Relationship (noun)_
> 
> 1.The way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected.

They had a connection, Charlie was their primary connection.

> 1.3 An emotional and sexual association between two people.
> 
> ‘she has a daughter from a previous relationship’

Which reminded her she still didn't know shit about Charlie's mom.

And They hadn't had sex, based on the type of women Scott had dated back in the day, when she used to keep up with his romantic track, she was not really his body type. Maybe it was just a fling for his daughter's coach; very convenient.

No one ever had any real interest in her, and the ones who did where always after something.

Like the one time Fedor got involved in a a doping scandal and he started to charm her and go very public about their relationship because no one would believe the good girl Tessa Virtue would get involved with someone who lied when said his exam was adultereded. Except he lied to her too and dumb Tessa believed in him.

Rationally, Tessa knew very well all that was very circumstancial, but it didn't stop her from thinking about every possible scenario. Overthinking was her second nature. And That's probably why she didn't do relationships, she didn't know how to transit in that area and she hated not knowing things.

She was _Ms. Know-it-all_ , as Jordan would call her.

And in that situation, she couldn't ask for Jordan to help her think through it because she still was very reluctant about Scott.

 

* * *

  

_When Tessa turned at the corner leading to her room, she heard the whispers and muffled laughs before she saw the couple groping at each other by the door of her room._

_It the poor warm light, she recognised long brown hair and the slender figure of her roommate in a very rumpled team's shirt gathered around her waist while she fumbled with the lock of their room._

 

_"Stop it." She whispered between a laugh to the man with his face pressed against her neck and his hands going up and under her shirt._

_"Where's your roommate?" He whispered back._

_"I saw her at the Canada House just minute ago."_

 

_Wrong, Tessa thought. They were absolutely oblivious to their surrounding and she didn't need to make a grand effort to keep herself to not make herself noticed while she tried to decide whether she should interrupt their thing or not._

 

_"Quick, Kait."_

_"If you could stop distracting me."_

 

 _He raised his hands up and dropped his heavy body against the wall and Tessa saw clearly his face when he leaned back with a lopsided grin._  

For fucks sake. How many times would she cross paths with Scott Moir in one night?

_She turned around and left, hearing the door shutting at her back. Kat would have to give her shelter that night, she was the one that convinced Tessa to leave her room in the first place._

 

* * *

 

"Tessa, what kind of party you attended last night?" Sheri asked when Tessa took the sunglasses off in the dressing room. She was a makeup artist who had worked with Tessa many time,

"None." Except for the one in her memories from Sochi, and she was very aware of the dark circles under her eyes it caused her. "Just a restless night, unfortunately." 

Tessa sat on the chair in front of the mirror. "Do your tricks, please."

"I'm gonna try my best."

"Thanks." She laid her head back and let him work on her. Tessa loved having her makeup done, it was so relaxing and she needed that time to concentrate and focus on her work and what she was there to do.

She replied to Sheri's small talk while she went over some infos about the book and question they could ask her, when she was distracted enough, the other woman artist slipped in a question:

"Hey, there's a backstage gossip that you and Scott Moir are dating. Is it true?"

Tessa shot her eyes open, "Hm, we know each other, but no, we're not dating," the words easily slipped through her lips thanks to the years and years of media training and pre made answer, no matter the turmoil that question caused under her skin - especially coming from a media related situation. 

"I see. That's good for you. I was on the set of their shooting for Nike the other day and he and Kaitlyn where very _friendly_."

"You mean Andrew Poje's wife?" Weird.

"No, silly, Kaitlyn Lawes, his ex." 

"Of course." She managed to say. 

She could hold herself together until she was alone, when she looked for Kaitlyn's Instagram profile. She had fought against the urge to take a deep look into his life, too afraid of what she would find.

Her eyes stopped at one of her recently photos that made her stomach twist. It was Charlie, she would recognise that face anywhere even like that, in a silhouette against the sunset light.

She felt the possession grab her guts and anger quickly consume her, filling her head with Jordan's cautiousness, the Sochi memories and the reputation Scott had. The time they had spent together could not cross that thick barrier to balance the odds.

 _Was she Charlie's mom?_ The thought crossed her mind. Maybe that night in the Olympic dorm…

No, it was not possible. She remembered seeing Kaitlyn in the months following the Olympics and there was no sign of pregnancy. But maybe… maybe she wasn't paying attention?

And then she just felt sad.

Technically Charlie was just her student, and Scott was her students father who happened to know very well how to charm a woman nowadays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me. Or Scott. 
> 
> Maybe you can hate Scott until the next chapter, which is the second part to this one (I had to split in two otherwise this would be massive and I'd probably stay another 2 weeks without a new update) 
> 
> Be aware this chapter was all about the confusion in Tessa's head, I still promised an Angst-Free fic, this is just some drama to understand where Jordan's reaction came from and Tessa's own insecurities. I'll definitely post the next part soon with Scott's side of the story.
> 
>    
> That said, I hope you liked it, and thank you so much for your comments!! I hope you know how much they mean to me :) 
> 
>  
> 
> Twitter: claire_smh


	10. What a mess

He left the school after hours of chatting with kids and teens, leaving the best part, little ones, to the end. He was a bit scared of teenagers, the mere thought of Charlie becoming one, gave him nightmares; not because of her, but because of the boys at this age - he had been a particularly naughty one himself and probably made many fathers lose their sleep.

Scott sat on a chair that was supposed to be for a human being a third his age or less. But he didn't care. The kids distracted him enough to forget the uncomfortable seating or anything unpleasant that could come up around him.

He had found out they had this power early in his adulthood when his older brother put Alicia in his arms hours after she was born. From that day on, he paid extra attention to those of such a young age. Scott had a way with them, even before Charlie, probably because he was a 32 years old kid himself and he would jump to every opportunity to be around them and pass along whatever he knew to the next generation

He tucked the maple leafs hat on his head to shield his eyes from the non-stoppable rain as he crossed the street to reach his car. Scott could deal with cold easily he was just not a fan of the rain and living in Toronto was impossible to escape the months of heavy rain during the autumn and winter. At least it was hockey season, and Christmas was just around the corner. He could barely wait to go back to Ilderton to meet his family, enjoy his mom's cooking and spend some quality time with Charlie after those hectic days.

When he got into the driver seat, Scott was wondering what Tessa's plans for the holidays were. She probably would spend with her mom and her sister there in Toronto, she never mentioned her father and from what he could gather from his previous Google stalking, he wasn't a part of her life.

Scott got his phone out of his back pocket to plug into the power bank sitting in the passenger seat before he ran out of battery (yes, he learned how to use those). He then called home to check on things and his mom obviously had everything under control.

"I'm making a roast for dinner, Charlie's request." Oh yes! His baby had the greatest taste in food, and very similar to her father's."There's enough for four if you want to invite Tessa."

"Mom-"

"I'm just saying."

He knew she would love to have Tessa for dinner, she was probably her number one fan after Charlie.

Scott called her, just in case - he missed her pretty face like hell, but she didn't pick up her phone. Weird. She always had that thing strapped on her hand. He tried again but nothing. When he put his phone down, the screen flashed, and he saw an unread message.  

> _K: WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE SCOTT MOIR?_

Scott read the text from Kaitlyn Weaver. 

> _S: Whoa, what?_

She had sent him the link of a video next, featuring Tessa's name on the title.

“We're back with Tessa Virtue, on her new book which is out now.” The morning show presenter said to the camera, sitting side by side with Tessa on the red couch. She was wearing a fitted skirt with a bold slit up her thighs.

_Hot as fuck._

They cut to the close-up camera, showing the cover of her book featuring a beautiful picture of Tessa sitting in an armchair, wearing a faded grey sweater with her skates draping from a hand by the laces.

It was very different from what he had imagined. She looked so fresh and disarmed, very different from the image of most of her pictures he had seen, under the spotlights with heavy makeup and elaborated costumes. The more he got to know about the many facets of her personality the more he felt himself being pulled into her direction.

He heard her talking about the book and how she had worked hard on it, genuinely interested in the process. He tried to be cautious because this was new territory for him, but Scott wasn't going to deny the feeling of want, the need to touch her, or how good it felt when he knew her heartfelt laugh was his doing.

“Seems like it's a very personal piece.”

“It is. I wanted to write it myself, and I was lucky enough my publisher bought the idea. I had so much help and support from a lot of people, and I'm very proud of the result.”

“You should be, I took a peek at it earlier, and it's incredible.” The blond mid-age woman and her bright smile looked straight to the camera and held it up close to her face. “Go buy it before it vanishes from the shelves, people.”

Scott saw Tessa blushing and smile gently. She was able to keep her composure, but he noticed how tense she was, from the way she pressed her elbows against the sides of the body and cracked her knuckles when the camera was not primarily on her. Which was odd, Tessa was very good at this media thing from what he could see so far.

“And what are your plans now?”

“I'm still adjusting to being retired and trying to find a way to give to the new generation some of what I've learned in the past 22 years of my career.”

“We also know you’ve been teaching at the West Toronto Skating Club?”

“That’s right.”

“We got a little video from the program, should we watch it?”

“Of course.”

The video took all the screen and it showed Tessa and Lauren on the ice, with a handful of kids around them. Scott caught a glimpse of Charlie swirling around and they split the screen keeping Tessa’s reaction to the image on the monitor in front of her. She smiled softly to the image of Charlie and chuckled when Charlie stopped the pirouette with a bright and proud grin and she clapped. The video continued to a sequence of shots of Tessa with other kids and the younger girls assisting in the activities.

“It's the first time I've seen it, that’s lovely! I love being with those kids and seeing them develop their skills at every class. I started at that same rink and being part of the Skate Canada program has given me the opportunity to pass along some of what I’ve learned and helped the next generation maybe? Even though I’m sure the kids teach me more about life than I could ever teach them.”

The other woman nodded and asked, “And do you think you have a coaching career ahead of you?”

“It’s a possibility, yes, but we’ll see.”

“And we look forward to these next chapters of your life!”

“Thanks, Kelly.”

“We have a couple more minutes, and we asked your fans on twitter to come up with questions for you and we picked the 5 most asked, are you up to a quiz?”

“I love quizzes, bring it!”

“Great!” They showed the screen capture of the first tweet and she read “When you’re not on the rink, what do you like to do?”

“Read, for sure. And spend time with my family.”

“Favourite Starbucks order?”

“Hot chocolate.”

Obviously, with a splash of caramel syrup.

“Do you have a celebrity crush?”

“Of course I do, many. David Beckham is one.”

Scott huffed. He was not even that good-looking.

“Favourite Olympic moment?”

“The moment I finished my presentation in Pyeongchang, I didn’t know if it was worth a gold medal, but for me, it was the best skate of my life.”

“The last one was the most asked question by far.”

“Oh really? What was that?”

Scott got a glimpse of Tessa’s reaction when the camera went back to her after showing a picture of him and Tessa at the Leafs game. “Are you and Scott Moir dating?” He heard the question.

She didn’t appear shocked, in fact, she didn’t show any emotion and Scott himself was sweating cold.

“This is a very interesting picture, you two looked very cosy.”

Tessa chuckled. “We all know I’m a die-hard maple leafs fan, right?" She heard the audience loud whistles and smiled. "I had the honour to sit by the great Scott Moir that day and we watched the game together. That's all."

"So you're not dating?"

She shook her head "Sorry, Kelly, from what I know, Mr Moir and I are not compatible.”

_What the fuck._

 

* * *

 

When Tessa didn’t pick up his calls, Scott made his way to her apartment and hoped she’d be home. She was not in the mood to see him but knowing how insistent he could be, she opened the door for him.

"Who's not picking the calls now?" Scott tried a light joke even though it didn't sound right, he was mildly pissed and he saw that same annoyed expression on her face from the first time they met at the rink. The shield was up again.

"I was busy, sorry."

"I see, sorry to interrupt. I just saw the video from your interview this morning. You have me confuse here. I thought we had something. What happened?"

They stood across each other in the middle of Tessa’s living room. She wore dark fitted jeans and a white button down.

"First, I like to keep my private life, private,” she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I wouldn't say on national television that we hooked up on the elevator on our way out after the Leafs won. And second, what is this thing really?" She asked.

He opened and closed his mouth and no sound came out, still puzzled by her inflamed reaction.

"Yeah, thought so."

"Look, I like to be with you, isn't it enough for now?" Scott reacted.

"It would be if we just had mind-blowing sex by night and I continued to be just Charlie's Coach by day. But this," she pointed a finger between them, “this is a mess."

"Let's just take a day at a time and see how this turns out."

"Ok then, let's talk through today's issue. I was getting ready for the show this morning and the makeup artist said it was good that you and I were not involved since he was at your shooting with your ex, Kaitlyn Lawes, last week and you too were super cosy. Do you have something going on with her too?“

"Oh God, Tessa, I'm sorry you thought it. There's nothing between us."

"Why she has a picture of Charlie on her Instagram then?"

"She does?"

"Oh please, Scott."

"Tessa, I don't post pictures of Charlie, you know that. And to be honest, I don't like the idea Kaitlyn did it. We dated for a year, after that we parted on good terms and we are just good friends. Charlie and I met her a couple of weeks ago at the park casually, it's probably from that day. I might have done a lot in my past, but I’ve never cheated on a woman, Tessa."

“Then explain to me how Charlie’s mom was pregnant during your Olympic ventures. I did the math Scott.”

That's right, she had said she knew him from Sochi, unfortunately.

“Do you really wanna go there now?” When Tessa didn’t reply, he forced himself to say: “We were not in a relationship, Tessa. Charlie's mom and I often enjoyed each other's company, but we were not dating when she got pregnant."

She went silent for a moment.

"Look, Scott, this is a lot to process. But I think it's better if I continue to be only Charlie's coach."

"You're really jumping out of it just because of this Kaitlyn thing?"

"If I had a shooting with my ex, how would you feel about discovering it through other people? And to hear you were quite cosy with each other."

"I don't know, it never crossed my mind."

"Of course not, you have your head up your ass and  you can’t think about the possibility of a woman not devoting herself to you, right?”

"Whoa, I thought you knew me better than this. Fine, I respect that. I will find my way out, Ms Virtue."

* * *

 

“What's up with you today dude?” Andrew asked Scott when he replied his comment with a mumble again.

“Nothing.” he took a swing of his beer and continue to look straight to the TV screen.

It was Sunday and there was no game on so they watched the last game recording to analyse everything, but through Scott always had a lot to say, he was very non-critical that night.

“Is it the Tessa problem? Kaitlyn is still pissed at you for ruining it.” Andrew pointed, they knew Scott was a grown-up man but they still worried about their friend and they both thought Tessa was the one for him.

“I got over it.”

“Bullshit,” Kaitlyn called him out when she entered the room after hearing bits of their conversation.

Scott rolled his eyes and sunk in the coach, hitting the red cushions heavily, ”now you're talking to me?”

“Have you talked to Tessa again?” Kaitlyn ignored his comment.

“Didn't have time.” From his attitude, Kaitlyn didn't believe time was precisely the problem.

“Who's taking Charlie to the rink?” She asked.

“Mrs Wright.”

“How old are you, Scott? 10? I swear to God, I want to punch you in the face sometimes.”

“Hey, it's not my fault she got all pissed because I met Kaitlyn.”

“I disagree. You talked every day, you should have told her.”

“I never had to tell things like that to Kaitlin.”

“Because she didn't care!"

Andrew sat between them, sipping his beer, he loved his life too much to get in the middle of that argument. And he was not taking sides between his best friend and his wife, even though he had learned wifey was always right, period.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but you didn't really _dated_ dated, Scott. You were just exclusive fuck buddies for a year."

"We went on dates and stuff."

"Sure, then you would go to hers, have sex and then go back home."

"Of course, I had to go back to my daughter, Kaitlyn."

Kaitlyn rested her closed fists on her hips and leaned over. "Why didn't she go to the lake house with you and Charlie then?"

When he remained silent, and Kaitlyn answered her own question, "for the same reason she never slept at yours, she didn't want to be fully involved in Charlie's life, she didn't want to create a bond with her. And no woman who seriously date a man with a kid and don't want to spend some quality time with his kid, see a future there. And if that is your reference for commitment and dating, boy, you're fucked up."

Scott looked at Andrew. _Dude, some help here?_ And he just shrugged.

"Oh, and-" he grumbled and she shut him down pointing the finger at him, don't give me this look, Scott. I'm pissed she posted a picture of Charlie, she has no fucking right. I'm her freaking godmother and I don't do it because I know you don't like it. She was clearly just fishing for likes and trying to get your attention."

Oblivious to the big time harassment her father was going through, Charlie sat on the floor of Matt's room, running a miniature car lazily around her crossed legs. Aunt Kaitlyn had braided her hair just like Ana from Frozen - her dad still couldn't do it very well, to prevent from falling over her face while she played earlier, rolling on the floor with a very giggly baby Harry. He had an adorable laugh and it her want to laugh too.

"Charlie?" She looked up at Matt sitting across from her, right by the impressive tall set of Hotwheels he had put together. "Do you want to play with the ramp?"

When she nodded but didn't seem very enthusiastic about it, he rose and walked to her, sitting back on his ankles. "Do you want to play with something else?"

Matt had a couple of inches on her and the blue sweater was a loose fit on his thin body. The light brown hair was almost blond and the eyes that always looked after Charlie had freckles of copper around the green iris.

"What's wrong?" She was not ok, Matt could tell.

He didn't remember not knowing Charlie, she was part of life since always and it meant they knew everything about each other; they were the best friends.

"I miss Tessa."

"Your friend who teaches you to skate?"

Charlie bobbled her head up and down and few short strands of her dark hair fell off the braid covering her big hazel eyes.

"We used to see her all the time outside of the rink, now we can't."

"Why?"

"I don't know." She raised her little shoulders and dropped down in a deep sigh, Charlie looked so small when she was sad.

"Ask your father, he knows everything." Anyone could hear the deep admiration when he addressed Scott. "I can ask mom too, she knows everything."

She considered for a second; that was true, aunt Kaitlyn knew everything. Nana Alma did too, but she had gone back to her home in Ilderton already.

"I'll ask dad."

"And I'll ask mom, kay?"

Charlie nodded and Matt saw a shy smile wanting to break her lips. Good, he prefered when she smiled. He rose from his position and went to a low shelf by his bed, where he kept his favourite cars. He picked the yellow one because it was Charlie's favourite colour and ran back to her.

"Here, you can play with this." Matt put the car in the palm of her little hand and she looked at the shiny miniature. Charlie knew that this was special.

"Thank you." The shy smile evolved to an open grin and he pushed the track he had built to sit in the middle of them so they could both play until his mom would come up to call them for dinner.  It was pizza night with Uncle Scott and Charlie, her favourites.

 

* * *

 

"Daddy, Why Tessa doesn’t have dinner with us anymore?"

"She's really busy with work, Charlie." Scott tucked the covers under her chin and took a sit on her bed.

"But it's almost Christmas, you don't work on Christmas."

"No, I don't," Because he had her, and it was important for him to spend time with her. "But Tessa is still teaching you, isn't she? If she didn't work, you wouldn't have your ice skating lessons."

She nodded.

"Tomorrow is your last lesson before the next year, you know that, right baby?"

"Yes" she pouted and it broke his heart.

"Remember grandma Alma said you can spend lots of time on the ice in Ilderton."

"But Tessa won't be there."

"She'll be here when we get back.”

"Okay."

"Good night baby."

"Night daddy." She puckered her lips and he dipped his head down for her to give him a kiss.

He brushed a hand over her hair, looking at those beautiful eyes of her. His heart swelled with love. How could he be the father of such a precious human being? He placed a kiss on her forehead and rose to leave the room, turning on the fairly lights above her head on his way out.

Charlie didn't fear the dark anymore, but he liked to think she was still his baby, and those little things would guard her sleep and keep the nightmares away.

In the next day, Scott sat down on the stands, looking at Charlie pivoting around the ice; at least she was happy, he thought. Strangely enough, Tessa was not on the ice. He looked around to see her standing close to the exit, holding her phone against her ear and looking down. She leaned against the wall wearing her hair in a messy top knot and the full black outfit standing out in contrast to the white, worn skates.

He thought about how he was always drawn to her anywhere, anytime. He thought about their argument at her house, the talk he had with Kaitlyn and back to how Tessa said he met him in Sochi and the look her sister gave him that afternoon when they met.

He remembered very little from after his gold medal, but he would remember her, wouldn't he? Did he do something so bad that she couldn't trust him now, even after all this time?

When she put the phone down, and their eyes met the stands and the heads of parents watching their kids.

“Hi, Scott.” She sat a bit too far from what he was used to, there was room for at least one person between them. Tesse massaged two fingers into her temple and he could tell she probably had a headache. 

“Tessa,” he said her name softly. “You’re not on the ice today?”

“I should be, I got caught up in a bunch of calls and Lauren had to start without me.” If the dark circles under her eyes and no makeup was an indication of anything, Scott could say she had been working to exhaustion. He didn't know if it got him pissed or worried. 

“I see, I hope everything is fine.” He limited himself to say. before he took a pause and kept his eyes on her. Tessa looked back at him and there was nothing for him in those eyes, that cause his heart to sting him and he didn't know how to deal with that feeling of rejection, not coming from her. "Can I ask you something?" He heard himself saying in a impulse.

She sighed, "I don't think now it's a good time."

But he did either way "what happened in Sochi?"

Tessa breathed heavily but didn't look away from him. "Kaitlyn was my roommate in Sochi, Scott."

"Oh shit."

"Indeed," she breathed a laugh with no humor. "Do you even remember a thing from your last night there?"

"Barely. But I know I slept at Kaitlyn's dorm that night. Where were you?"

"I found myself a place to crash after I saw you at the door of our room."

"I'm sorry, Tessa." He said, "I was a reckless idiot back then."

"I have to agree, especially after you had hit on me earlier at the Canada House, and wanted to get in my panties."

Scott wanted to dig a hole the size of Everest and bury himself in. "I have nothing to say in my defence, Tessa, other than what I told you the day we were at the Hockey game: I'm not that guy anymore. And I’m truly sorry you even knew him, I did things I'm not proud of back in the day, but it's all in the past."

"I can't, I really can't Scott."

"All I tried to do in the past months was to please you" there was hit of desperation in his voice, "because I liked your company, you are a beautiful woman, I love to see you with my daughter, and I admire the professional you are. And still, you hold on to the image you have of me from those days, that's really a shame."

"I hope we can still keep it civilised for Charlie's sake?" She said, emotionless.

"Sure." He answered dryly.

He saw her walking down the stairs and taking her time to take off the blade covers and place on a chair close to the entrance. Tessa transformed herself with the kids and he saw it happening before his eyes when the first boy noticed her and got out of the queue on the circuit to talk to her and she gave him all the attention like he was the only kid there. She did it with every kid on that ice, she made each one of them feel special.

Charlie noticed her coach, but being the girl she was, she continued to focus on her tasks. It was still amusing to him the connection those two had. But he was just sad now because there was no way they could have anything other than that relationship during the class. He wanted to give Charlie this, he saw how happy she was when Tessa was around and she had her all to herself. Hell, Scott wanted to give this relationship to himself.

Her attachment for Tessa was very strong and he was considering to find another rink in which she could take classes, but knowing his daughter and how difficult was for her to feel safe and comfortable anywhere outside her family and closest friends, Scott was not going to keep them apart as long it was healthy for Charlie.

Tessa left the ice again before the end of her class and locked herself in Lauren office with the phone attached to her ear. Charlie was moody when Scott sat her in the nearest chair to take her skates off. He was feeling off himself, but he hid it well from his daughter.

When Charlie was about to put her boots on, she heard a door being shut and looked into the direction of the noise to see Tessa. She finished putting her shoes in a second and ran to her and clinging to her legs.

"Hey, Charlie." She looked down to put a hand between her small shoulder blades.

"Tess, you're still here."

Scott walks up to them with Charlie's pink backpack in one hand "Charlie, say goodbye to Ms Virtue, we need to go."

She looked up "I'm going to nana Alma for Christmas."

"That's so exciting." Charlie didn't reply, but she tightened her grip around Tessa's tights. "Have fun, little girl, I'll see you when you get back."

"I'll miss you."

_Oh fuck._

"Come on Charlie, we need to go."

She looked at Scott when Charlie loosened her grip and walked to her father to grab his outstretched hand. The girl looked over her shoulder and Tessa braced herself when they broke eye contact.

 

* * *

 

Tessa stood in her mom's kitchen, pouring herself a cup of hot chocolate - there was an unlimited stock at that time of the year. She took the hot mug between her hands and brought to her lips carefully to not burn herself. It tasted like Christmas, but for the first time, it was missing something to be perfect.

She now missed the deep caramel flavour Scott put in her hot chocolate every time he brought it to the rink.

Tessa dragged her feet to the nearest chair and placed the mug with her initial on the table. She traced the T in the white porcelain waiting for the rich chocolate cream to cool down for a bit. And that's how Kate found her.

"Thought I'd find you here." Tessa rose her head quickly, not expecting to have company. She smiled softly and squeezed her daughter's shoulder. "Sorry, I didn't want to startle you."

"It's okay," She shook her head, "I was just waiting to drink my chocolate."

"Of course." Her youngster always had a sweet tooth.

Kate took her time moving around the polished granite counters to put together a plate of sweets for their movie night. Tessa was seriously stuffed after the banquet her mom had made for dinner, but she would nibble here and there because she knew it made her mom happy. From her seat, she watched her mom opening the dark wood doors of the cupboard over the sink and took another three mugs like hers, the newest addition was the one with a B on, for Ben.

If she let herself wander down that road, she envisioned two other addition to that particular collection, one with an S and another with a C. But she wouldn't go there, it was Christmas Eve, and this was her favourite time of the year.

"I penny for your thoughts?" Kate said, glaring at Tessa over her shoulder.

"I was just thinking how our little family has grown with Ben. He added so much to us."

"He really did." Kate nodded, keeping her back turned to Tessa while she poured the chocolate in the mugs."That boy is a handful, but he just fit in our picture."

"And Jordan is really happy, she literally is a blushing bride."

She chuckled and took two of the mugs to a tray on the table. "True." Kate turned to get the other mug and consider her thoughts and her worries about Tessa. She took the last cup and the plate with sweets to the tray and sat down. Tessa watched her attentively, she knew something was coming.

"I always thought you'd marry first." Kate placed a hand on her knee.

"Jordan is the older one, mom, I wouldn't do it to her." she joked.

"It's not about age, Tessa. It's about a soul. Your sister is very protective and dotting, but you are the one who loves easily."

Tessa felt the words prickle her skin as she waited for the rest to come. "Since when this a quality?"

"Since always," Kate stated. "And I've never known someone with a bigger heart than you." She cupped her face, brushing a thumb over her cheekbones. "I really thought Scott was your person, I hate to see you like this."

"It's fine, mom. It was just a fling." Tessa tried to brush it off.

"You can try to fool yourself, but you can't fool me, Tessa Jane." Despite her tone, Kate smiled softly. She tilted her head sideways, and they look into each other's eyes; Tessa could only bare down her soul to her mom and no one else.

"I wanted it to be." She whispered. "I wanted all of it."

The small tone of her voice pained a mother's heart. Her instinct was to cradle her and erase her suffering somehow, but she was the only one Tessa would listen and maybe, that was the only way to take the sadness away in the long run.

"I love you, Tess, with all my heart..."

Oh, she was about to be called out "But?" Tessa asked, too tired to be defensive about it.

Kate chuckled and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear before she dropped her hand on top of Tessa's nervous fingers, brushing the hem of the fluffy dressing gown. "But all this time you wanted an excuse, a reason to get back into your shell and you got it, but you shouldn’t let your fears keep you away from this chance to live what could be the love of your life.”

Tessa shook her head involuntarily in denial, and Kate squeezed her hands tightly, making her stop and look straight at her mom.

“You know better than anyone else that nothing comes easy. You have to fight for what you want, T."

"Where's my hot chocolate, mom?" Jordan demanded when she entered the kitchen. She looked between the two other women and squinted her eyes "Did I miss something?" She crossed her arms over red reindeer nose of the matching pyjamas the three of them had picked for Christmas.

"You did, too late." With a final hand squeeze, Kate rose to her feet. "Take the food, Jordan, I'll heat the chocolate."

Tessa was still not looking at her older sister, things were shaken between the two of them because of an I-told-you-he-was-a-douche situation.

"Kay, Ben set the film already, the Grinch is waiting."  She gathered the plate and left, she knew when to not push her luck. Sometimes.

Tessa managed to watch the movie, despite the loud thoughts running around in her head, but as soon the film ended, she moved the plushy thrown from over her legs and rose, "I'm going to bed."

"Already?" Kate asked, and Tessa gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm tired."

"Tess-" Jordan called from the other end of the couch and Ben used the hand dropping over her shoulder to pinch her arm, and she looked back at him. _Leave her_ , he said with a look.

"What?"

"Good night sis," Jordan smiled lightly.

"Night you two."

He nodded to her "Sleep well, Tess."

She reached the door of her old room and entered in the dark, walking on the thick carpet to her bed. Tessa left the grey dressing down slip to the floor and got under the covers.

As a habit, she took one last look at her phone and scrolled down through the notifications before she plugged into the charger and sat the phone screen down.

Tessa turned around facing up and but looking inside of her for some answers. She would have another restless night.

 

* * *

 

Scott flipped to his side in the double bed he shared with Charlie at his old room.

He couldn't fucking sleep.  

_Great._

He had refused the invitation of an old friend to go out and have a drink in the city even though he knew Charlie would be perfectly fine under his parent's watch. He was just not in the mood.

His mom had shooed him out of the house earlier to go pick some things from a store in London on Christmas Eve.

“Why Charlie can’t bring when he comes around?” He had asked her.

“Because I want you to get out of here. I love you, son, but it’s annoying to be around you right now.” Alma had answered.

To be honest, he was a bit grumpy and little Charlie was starting to be too.

She couldn’t stop speaking about Tessa and how she missed her. And when her grandfather asked her who was Tessa, Charlie said it was hers and dad’s special friend. Fuck.

Scott had gone for a walk in the city to try to clean his head, and it didn't take long for his eyes to be drawn to a picture of Tessa in the window of a bookstore. She was everywhere, and not close enough.

He turned on the lamp at his bedside table and touched around the floor under his bed until he found the book he had tucked there - yes, he had bought it. Charlie was asleep by his side, but she wouldn’t mind the brightness being such a heavy sleeper. He sat against the headboard and leaned the book closer to the light to read the first words. The book was dedicated to Kate Virtue, and from they way Tessa always talked about her mom, it made sense.

In the preface, there was a quote from her favourite book, A gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles:

> _"... life does not proceed by leaps and bounds. It unfolds. At any given moment, it is the manifestation of a thousand transitions. Our faculties wax and wane, our experiences accumulate, and our opinions evolve - if not glacially, then at least gradually. Such that the events of an average day are as likely to transform who we are as a pinch of pepper is to transform a stew."_

Scott was not much of a reader, but he sank in her word quickly; he wanted to understand her, read her, and find answers that might lead her back to him.

Charlie shook him awake in the morning, knocking the spread book over his belly to the floor. "Wake up daddy! It's Christmas!"

"Hey, munchkin," he mumbled still with his eyes closed, drawing her small body to his. Merry Christmas, Baby." He kissed her messy hair, and she nestled her head in the crook of his neck and tilted her chin to kiss his face.

"Merry Christmas, daddy."

"I love you, Charlie." He wrapped his broad arms tighter around her and she melted into his embrace, whispering an 'I love you' back; that was her favourite place in the world, his too.  "Should we get downstairs?"

"Yes!"

Charlie jumped out of bed and stood on the floor, barely able to contain her excitement. Scott sat on the side of the mattress and rubbed his face roughly.

"Come on daddy," She grabbed his hand and pulled him.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." he got his phone and tucked on the pocket of the old pair of grey sweats. Charlie pulled him down the stairs to the sitting room where Alma and Joe were sharing a cup of coffee, waiting for their particular favourite show that was Charlie on a Christmas morning.

 

* * *

 

The golden star was the same Tessa remembered from their Christmas when she was nine, it sat on the top of the real tree, touching the ceiling at the very tip. The surface reflected the Christmas lights descending the fat green tree around the rose-gold decorations until it reached the bottom, full of an obnoxious amount of packages. They were all givers in that household.

Tessa still remembered when she was 9 and two weeks before Christmas, she heard her parents arguing in the kitchen. She stayed hidden to listen to it all, she was not a child anymore, she knew something was wrong.

_"What are you doing here?" Jordan had whispered to her, always the protective big sister.  She pulled Tessa away from the door gently, "go back to your room, Tess."_

She was 4 years older and so mature already.

Three days later, her father told her he had to travel and he wouldn't be home for Christmas. That year, her mom went to the store and bought new decorations for Christmas and made the best Christmas Tessa had had until then, despite everything.

She figured out soon enough that she would rarely see him again. In fact, she could count on her two hands how many times they met in 21 years.

She looked over to Jordan, sitting by the tree and tearing down her gift packages like a child, the difference now was that she got a very adult new fancy blender for and she absolutely loved it.

"Look Ben," she rose the piece to him to him as he walked into the room. "We can do anything with this baby now, fuck Starbucks, I'm gonna make my own iced coffee when the summer comes."

"I can see it, J." He chuckled at her and handed one of the cups he had in his hands to Tessa.

"Thanks," she said, smiling up at him from her position seated on the arm of the couch.

"No problem." He replied, sipping his own coffee while the view of his fiance with a Red Christmas hat made his heart feel warm and light. "Shouldn't you be mostly distributing gits, babe?"

"Oh." She stopped in the middle of her search for another present with her name on and embarrassed tinted her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I don't have maturity from Christmas."

"We know, sweetheart." Kate reached out to rub her shoulder lightly. She sat on the window bench behind the lighted tree. In the dark wood frame, she had pinned four red socks, with the same initials as the mugs, and filled them all when the kids had gone to bed.

Jordan read the name on the tag of red packed she had on her hand, "this's for you, Ben" She handed it out to him, and he read the card before opening it while Jordan gave another gift to her mom.

"Thanks, Tess." He smiled softly and hugged her sideways.

"I hope you like it." She watched him meticulously opening the package to reveal three new books, it was a passion they shared.

"I can't believe you got him more books." Jordan shook her head, trying to keep herself from smiling. She loved two bookworms.

"Shut up, Jordan" Ben mumbled, reading the back cover of one of the books. "You're doing an awful job as Santa's helper this year, you're not going to renew your contract."

"As if. I owe this game." She gave a gift to Tessa next, but her sister didn't get the chance to open. Tessa quickly excused herself after a discreet look to her phone and Kate and Jordan exchanged a glance behind her back.

Tessa's heart was trumped loudly in her chest as she accepted the call when she got to the next room and the round face of Charlie Moir filled her screen.

“Merry Christmas, Tess!” Charlie shouted at the image of Tessa.

The image shook violently because Charlie couldn't sit still, but Tessa still saw the wide, happy grin spread over her face and up to that moment, she didn't know, but the breath she let go with a laugh took a heavy weight off her chest.

“Merry Christmas, little girl." Tessa leaned down to the closest wall and gave back the same smile. "Did Santa bring you many gifts?” She spoke softly.

“Yes! I got so many. Daddy said it was because I was a very good girl this year.”

“He’s right, Santa is very generous when you behave well.”

“Can I show Tessa my presents, dad?” Tessa saw Charlie raising her head to look up, out of the camera reach, she guessed Scott was around.

“Quick,” his rough and low voice send shivers down her spine, oh god. “we have to go eat breakfast.”

“Kay.” Charlie gave the phone to her dad and ran out of the room.

When Tessa saw his face, something twisted in her.

“Sorry for another early call.” He framed his face from a distance and she could see the Leafs Christmas jumpers we wore.

“Don’t worry,” she replied quickly “I don’t mind.”

“She refused to eat breakfast until she talked to you.” This was becoming her bargain and he would give in every time.  

Scott paused and looked at her face, he wanted to reach out and brush the freckles on the tip of her nose so badly. He looked down and rubbed his palm roughly over his leg, ordering himself to calm the fuck down and then turned his look back to her.

“I wish we could talk and sort this out.” He said softly.

Tessa focussed on his face as the words left her mouth: “Me too.”

“I can't leave Charlie, but as soon I get back, I want to see you.”

Tessa nodded eagerly and Charlie was back on the screen next. She dropped herself in her father’s lap and the seat bounced up and down.

“Look Tess! I got new skates, They even have my name on the blade!” She raised her had with the shining new pair of skates

“They are beautiful!” Tessa smiled and got closer to the screen, inspecting the name scribbled on the metal surface.

“I got so many books, and this” As quickly as she had brought up the skates, she raised the massive Frozen drawing kit with both her hands, covering her entire face. “ We can do some pretty pictures together when I get back home.”

She looked up at Scott in the corner of the frame and he was looking back at her. _Can we?_ She didn't want to make empty promises to her.

Charlie's drawing was fixated on the fridge door back at Tessa’s home, and she could see it filled with more colourful art with her unique signature on; Tessa thought about the only package left by her tree back home and her heart squeezed tightly. Charlie Moir has owned her life quickly and thoroughly.

“We need to go,” Scott spoke and Charlie pouted. “Say goodbye to Tessa, Charlie.”

“Bye Tessa! Merry Christmas!” She repeated, waving her hand before the camera.

“Bye Charlie, thanks for calling, you made my Christmas morning very special.”

Charlie smiled like she was the most important person in the world because she was, Tessa considered. She threw a kiss at Tessa and the woman did the same before Scott put his daughter down

“We talked to Tessa, Nana!” She heard the small voice screaming in excitement over the tumbling of her feet running away.

“Thanks for talking to her,” Scott said, moving his eyes away from the now empty corridor back to his phone.

“She really made my morning, thank you.” She wanted to say they both made it a special morning, but the words didn’t find the way out of her mouth.

“Can we talk later?”

She nodded. “Call me when you can.”

“I will. Merry Christmas, Tessa.” He said softly.

“Merry Christmas, Scott.”

Jordan walked in when Tessa was trying to find her balance again to go back to the other room. She opened her hand under her sister's nose revealing half a dozen of chocolate wrapped in  bright coloured foil “here, I saved your favourite ones, Ben stole your chocolate tin again.”

She looked up at Jordan, “you fought your future husband for your sister?”

“Always. Girls over bros, right?”

Teasa raised an eyebrow at her, putting the chocolate in the deep pocket of her dressing gown. Jordan sighed, leaning down to the wall beside her.

“I'm sorry, Tessa, about the Moir thing.”

“It's ok, don't worry.”

“No. Listen.” Her voice was serious now and she got Tessa's attention. “I can be a nosy bitch sometimes, we all know that, but I had no right to interfere in your relationship with Moir. I just didn't want to see you hurt, Tessa." She whispered softly the last words.

"I know, Jordan." She replied sincerely.

"That said, I'm going to be a nosy bitch one last time before I shut up for good about it. Put your big girl panties on, and go after what you want Tessa. If it works, great. If it doesn't, I'll be here to lend you a shoulder. And kick Scott Moir's peachy ass."

Tessa let out a deep laugh and laid her head in Jordan's shoulder, "thank you, sis. I just have to figure out what to do next."

"Anytime." She laid her head on top of Tessa's "I actually thought of something, but I promised Ben I'd stop interfering."

"Now, Jordan? Really?"

"Hey, my marriage is at risk here."

Tessa rolled her eyes leaned her body away from her. "You're not married yet."

"My point exactly, he still can't ditch me."

"Oh, please! You are stuck with him, I'm afraid."

Jordan leaned over her shoulder and spoke close to her ear. She considered her sister's comment and a small smile curved her lips up.

"We'll discuss it later," the older sister enlaced their arms together. "Now let's go back to Christmas fun, otherwise I'm calling dibs on your presents and Ben will devour all my chocolates too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? 
> 
> Shout out to @eversincenewyork for helping me figure out this chapter and The writers' guild for being such an inspiration.
> 
> This beast of a chapter is unusually long. Normally I'd break in two after Charlie says goodbye to Tessa at the rink, but I thought it would be too angsty for this fic since I promised this would be an angst-free one. There's still a bit of a cliff at the but it's not that bad, right?!
> 
> I hope you liked this one, I was a wild ride to write 7k words for a single chapter lol. Thank you so much for reading, and leaving the best comments! I can't wait to read what you have to say about this! 
> 
> Oh and the angst is done, we go back to our regular fluff from now on :)
> 
>  
> 
> twitter: claire_smh


	11. All I want is you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to Anne, who fixed my awful typos and grammar in this chapter!

Tessa had started losing a battle to her restraints three months earlier when she first laid her eyes on Scott Moir after four years. She had looked at him and Charlie exiting the rink, and something had started crumbling inside of her. First, the image she cultivated of him, which was replaced by the new perspective Charlie presented to her through her love every time she uttered the word "Daddy". Then, her response to him.

The coffee, the talking, his interaction with Charlie, and his constant presence would have been enough for her to raise the white flag and end her personal war in his favour, but that one last inflammable thread of doubt proved to be disastrous enough and made her go back into safe mode.

The difference this time was that she got a taste on the tip of her tongue and it was enough to change her parameters in such a way that it was impossible to go back to her "normal".

The craving was overpowering.

Tessa heard the clock ticking in the back of her brain as she pushed open the heavy glass door. The small hands covered in black gloves fixed the scarf around her neck as she stepped outside, and the cold air pricked her exposed cheeks as she raised her chin to look around.

She craved his shoulder brushing against hers while they watched Charlie play around in the Christmas Market, as the discreet index finger drew the contours of her spine below her waist and under her coat.

She craved watching the way he devoted his attention to everything Charlie said because his world circled around her.

She craved the thoughtfulness he put into making sure she always got a new coffee combination every time he was around.

She craved them, and herself around Scott and his daughter because very few people could make her feel that bubbling happiness born deep in her stomach and erupt in a huge laugh. Tessa dared to say no one ever made her feel that way.

Overall, Tessa was a stubborn woman and very proud, but she spent so much time alone with herself that she learned to recognise her needs and how to fulfil them. She could fool herself into believing that she didn't want it, that she was not willing to take this risk, but under every layer of carefully constructed strength, there was a hopeless romantic soul.

Tessa turned her head around, and he was there. The few people who dared to be out in the morning crossed in front of him as he laid his eyes on her. He quickened his pace, crackling the bits of ice around the pavement under the heavy sole boots as the snow piled up on the sides.

The black coat sat on her shoulders heavily and framed her body until about the middle of her thighs. The fitted dark jeans and the mid heel boots made her legs look twice as long. He could see the round tip of her nose above her scarf.

“You are late.” She spoke aloud, over the noise of the cars and the buzz of the street, fighting the smile threatening to take over her face. Scott Moir in a red plaid shirt was a vision to her thirsty soul.

“I am. I'm sorry, Charlie almost didn't let me leave, she wanted to see 'Tess'. You should be waiting inside” he replied and reached out for her hand; she grabbed it with no hesitation.

Scott pulled her body against his and cradled her face between his hands. "Hi, Ms virtue."  

He looked as happy as a young boy on Christmas morning; only Christmas was 3 days ago and long gone were the thoughts of a boy when he set eyes on her.

The soft smile on his lips exponentially added to the convulsion of emotions in her belly.

"Hello" Tessa whispered. He had forgotten his gloves at home when he left in a hurry, and his cold hands burned her warm cheeks for a second, just to leave a tingling sensation as soon as the heat in her body passed to him.

His palms slipped softly along her skin to rest under her jawline. Scott could feel the quickening pace of her heart raging against his own skin and his own heart pulsed in his ears. Her red lips and the red scarf made the green in her eyes so vivid, Scott noticed. Or maybe it was just the sheer content she radiated.

"You’re here."

Tessa curled her fingers around his biceps as much as her small hands would take, “Yes, I am. Surprised?”

“Astonished, to be honest.”

She had come to him, and Charlie.

Tessa was in London.

 

* * *

 

"This is Charlie's favourite breakfast place," Scott opened the door for Tessa and she stepped inside. The entire room made her feel like she was in an adult-size dollhouse, where teal blue walls were covered with stacks of an impressive collection of porcelain of different styles, shapes, and colours among a precious collection of vintage objects. A lamp, very similar to one that her grandma had, stood in the middle of the room between two red chairs with polka dot cushions. Nothing was duplicated, every single object was unique, and Tessa was really impressed.

"I can see why. I feel like I'm attending a very fancy tea party."

Scott chuckled, he wouldn't have thought of that. For him, Charlie liked it because of the colours and the environment, while he just liked it for the food.

He gently put a hand against the small of her back to lead the way, barely able to keep his hands off her now that she was there.

They crossed the room to a small, square table right by the window. The weather outside was grey and miserable, but inside she felt incredibly warm.

Tessa shrugged out of her coat and laid it in the back of the yellow chair. She adjusted the voluminous scarf over the grey shirt when she took a seat, watching Scott plop down onto the mismatched blue chair. He took off the hat, and his hair was everywhere; he ran both his hands through the thick mass of black hair, combing back the unruly strands.

"Hey, Scott." the attendant gave him an easy smile, adjusting her glasses by the bridge after she handed them the menu "Where's Charlie?"

"Hi, Linda. Charlie's at the rink with the gang. If she finds out I was here without her, she'll throw a tantrum." Scott sounded really serious, and Linda chuckled.

"Oh, she will.'

Scott laid the menu back on the table and looked up, "I'll have the Daddy's big stack and a coffee."

"The usual."  Scott nodded.

"Have you chosen yours?" He directed to Tessa.

She was holding the menu up, but still hadn't given it a look "Oh,” she ran her eyes through the letters "You know what," she closed it and put the menu on top of his, "Coffee is your thing, go on, I trust your abilities to order my food."

"Bold of you.” He grinned easily. ”Linda, bring the lady a cappuccino with a bagel. And a brownie later."

“Good choice.” Linda gave him some moral support and turned around to leave.

"Safe choices," Tessa commented.

"I'm not gonna be adventurous when we are about to talk our shit out."

Scott pushed aside the white teapot with fresh pink flowers that was sitting between them and leaned forward, setting his folded arms on the table top.

"That's probably wise of you.” Tessa replicated his move, dropping a hand on top of his arm. “Then let me start by saying: I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions and let my insecurities get the best of me. And I'm sorry about the interview too. I don't think we are incompatible."

"Apologies accepted. I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark.” He covered her hand, running his thumb over the side of her wrist. “Can you forget Sochi-Scott?”

She nodded. “I can see things have changed.”

“Thank fucking god.” He let out a long breath, and Tessa chuckled.

“Thank your daughter. If it weren't for her, I would never have given you a chance to begin with.”

“If it weren't for her, I'd still be a reckless douche.”

Tessa started talking, but no sound came out. She closed her mouth and considered her words before they were interrupted.

“Here you go,” Linda said softly, supporting a tray against her hip, and they leaned back to make room for their order.

“Thanks.” They both said when she placed the drinks and the food in front of them.

Tessa quickly approved of his choice when she took the first bite of her warm toasted bagel.

She picked up a napkin and wipe a  few crumbs from the corner of her mouth. "This is really good."

Scott smirked  as he took a very large - and not as neat - bite of the tall stack that included toast, eggs, and bacon.

He sat the cutlery down beside the flower-pattern plate and looked straight at the woman across from him, sipping on her drink as she looked around, sinking in the details and colours.

"Hey," Scott lightly squeezed her knee under the table, and she looked back at him. "I can see the wheels turning in your head. Ask me anything you want. I'll answer it. I'm an open book.”

Tessa sat her cup back on the table, but didn't let go, "I was wondering about Charlie's mom."

Scott sighed, "I figured you'd want to know."

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," Tessa told him, and she meant it.

"I don't mind really." he shrugged. Scott leaned forward and his knuckles brushed against hers when he laid his intertwined hands on the table. “Her name is Cassandra, and she's from here."

"She is?" Scott nodded. “Does she still live here?”

“No. Last time I heard from her, she lived in the States.”

The noise around the restaurant seemed to dissipate as they wrapped themselves in the presence of each other. Tessa focused solely on the words coming from Scott's mouth and watched his eyes turn glazy when he had to look inside his head to find a cohesive way to explain the situation toTessa.

“Cassandra never had the aspiration to be a mother, Tess. The pregnancy was an accident, and it probably happened right after I came back from Sochi.”

"Did you consider an abortion?" Tessa tried to keep her voice at a consistent level even though the words felt rough on her throat. Scott heard the slight shift in her tone and looked up.

Around them, people shared murmured conversations; the pale pink wall behind Tessa could be grey or have bright red polka dots on it; but he could only see her, and hear the worry and affection she had for Charlie. Tessa didn't know, but it was more feelings than Charlie’s birth mother had ever shown.

His hands crawled over hers and his thumb found the thin skin over her wrists, making lazy circle motions over the bluish veins. Scott used her to anchor himself and continue.

"That was a bit complicated. Cassandra was a pageant girl and she was always doing some crazy diet which, messed up her cycle apparently. She only found out when she was already 3 months along," despite his even tone, she could feel his knee bouncing under the table. "It was June, and I had just won the Stanley Cup with the Leafs. I was at the top of my career."

Tessa thought about the image she had of Scott from 2014, "I imagine it was a shock to you."

Scott snickered, "Oh yeah, and I coped with it the only way I knew how to: drinking my sorrows away. Andrew had to call for reinforcements at some point, and my older brother went to Toronto to shove me under a cold shower and sober me up after a week of self-pitying. Which I'm not proud of. At all." He pointed quickly and Tessa moved her head in a nod to show him she understood.

"But he managed to knock some sense into me and I convinced Cassandra to go to the doctor and check the baby. The moment I heard the baby's heartbeat, I was a goner." Scott remembered, and Tessa saw the creases in his forehead softening and the gleam in his eyes was back.

"I thought things would work out well after we set a plan. I'd take care of her and the baby and we would figure out things as it came. But Cassandra was sick. She hated being pregnant and she was disgusted by the image of herself as it progressed. She purposely tried to sabotage the pregnancy by neglecting her health."

“Was Charlie ok?” It was the only thing she managed to say.

“She was born prematurely," Scott told her in a low voice. Those images of his little thing in the NICU still made his stomach twist.

Seeing the pained look in his eyes, Tessa turned her palm up and slid her hand beneath his, “I'm sorry, Scott.”

"I know, thanks.’” he accepted her gesture, weaving their fingers together.

“Is she a part of Charlie's life?”

“She left Charlie as soon as she was discharged from the hospital and never looked back. Except for this one time, about a year after Charlie was born, when I got a call from her. I think it was a brief moment of remorse. But that was all. I have full custody of her, but she's still her birth mother, I'm not going to prevent any form of communication between her and Charlie as long she doesn't hurt my daughter." _Again_ , he thought to himself with a shadow of bitterness.

“She's lucky to have you.” Tessa squeezed his hand and breathed easier when she saw a tentative smile on his lips.

“It goes both ways. I need her more than she needs me.”

“I girl always needs her father." She stated, plain and simple.

“From what I've read, you did fine without yours.”

“You've read?” She lifted an eyebrow to him. “Where?”

“I might have come across your book while doing some Christmas shopping.”

“You read my book!” Tessa threw her head back in a belly laugh. “I'm honoured.”

Tessa joined her wrists together and laid her chin in her hands. “I want a full review.”

“Not before I get my autograph.” He felt the weight slowly shifting from around them to give space to an easier pace. “So we are done with the heavy talk?” the pleading look in his face had Tessa laughing again.

“I think we had our fair share.”

“Thank god, I was getting hungry again, I hate this shit.”

Tessa smiled at him, “you're discharged for today.”

“One last thing. Mom and Kaitlyn,” Tessa raised an eyebrow. And Scott grumbled “Ok, let's make something clear: every time I speak about Kaitlyn or Kait, it's about Andrew's wife, who is Charlie's godmother too, which means you'll hear a lot about her. If - and only if - I need to say something about my ex, we use Klawes, ok?”

“Fair enough."

“Good. As I was saying, both my mother and Kaitlyn made it clear to me that I'm a nuisance when it comes to the art of dating, so I guess I should tell you I don't want to be with anyone else, Tessa. I only want to be with you. And in my dictionary, this means being in a relationship,” Tessa smiled, _yeah, let's not get into semantics, shall we_. “If you can accept that Charlie will always come first in my life, then I'm all in.”

"One of the things I admire in you is how good of a father you are, Scott. And I adore your daughter more than I can find words to explain." Oh, he knew. "I would never want to come between you and her, Scott. I want to be with you, and Charlie.”

He liked that answer, a lot.

Scott reached over and  cradled her jaw with his hand, rubbing his thumb over her cheekbones gently. His eyes traced the beautiful paths of freckles over her face, always leading to her eyes. Scott would always be drawn back to them.

"Come here, beautiful girl," and a small smile spread over Tessa's lips to his cheeky tone.

They met in the middle; both eagerly leaning into this new promise. When their lips touched, exchanging a familiar and longing warmth, Scott closed his eyes and he still saw green - her green - that unique shade that spoke to him, lured him into desire and adoration. His new favourite colour.

 

* * *

 

The car was parked in front of the sign which said Ilderton Skating Club. Scott had run out to pick up Charlie. “Stay inside, I'm gonna leave the heat on,” he had said, but Tessa was never good at obeying.

She climbed out of the red pickup, stepping on the slippery pavement. The light snow tickled her exposed cheeks, but Tessa didn't care. She kept her eyes fixated on the doors, anxious to see a little frame popping out of the rink.  And she didn't disappoint.

First, she heard the loud bang on the metal door and then came Charlie, running out in a bright yellow blur.

“Be careful Charlie,” Scott screamed after her.

Charlie never heard her father, her little world had a single point of focus and it was the woman who had crouched down with opened arms waiting for her. “Tessa!”

The cold tip of Charlie's nose buried in a spot below Tessa's ear, rubbing on the edge of her scarf. She smelled like something sweet, Charlie didn't know what it was, but in her memory, it was Tessa's smell. The delightful comfort it brought her made her feel cosy and safe.

“You're here,” she whispered, and her voice carried the secret of a treasured bond.

“I am.” Tessa squeezed her child's body against hers, rubbing her cheek on her hair. How could a little human being provide such a sense of shelter for an adult?

Scott stood close by, capturing that adorable image in his memory.

Tessa pulled away from Charlie just enough to see her face. “Santa left this gift below my tree and said I needed to give it to this very well behaved girl as soon as possible." She tapped the round point of her nose lovingly, and a soft giggle made her pouty lips tremble.  "Her name is Charlotte, do you know her?”

“It’s me!” She jumped up and down.

"Get inside, it's in the back waiting for you."

Scott was ready to open the door to Charlie, and they both climbed into the front seats as the girl ripped open the wrapping paper vigorously. Tessa turned in her seat to watch Charlie, grinning from ear to ear herself.

It was nothing much, but when Charlie squealed in delight and clutched the light brown teddy bear, Tessa knew she got it right. It had caught her attention because it looked so much like the one her grandmother had given her when she was about Charlie's age. Since Charlie had an extensive collection of stuffed animals and dolls - the girl's pride and joy - Tessa thought she might like it.

"What do you say, Charlie?"

"Thank you, Tess!" She darted forward, planting a noisy kiss on the woman's cheek as the new gift was pressed between them.

"You're welcome, darling. I'm glad you like it."

"I love it!" She sat back, rubbing her face to the bear's ears.

She and Scott exchanged a look and he did the same as his daughter, kissing her cheek. "Thank you." He murmured in her ear.

 

* * *

 

It was somewhat entertaining to see Scott in this environment. Somehow he fitted both the Toronto fuckboy scenario and the country boy in his hometown. He was definitely more relaxed here. It showed in the way he dropped a hand from the steering wheel and manoeuvred the red pickup through the streets easily during night time, despite the insistent light snow. The Tragically Hip played in the background and Scott tapped her knee in the rhythm of the beat.

"You know this song?" He asked when he noticed she was humming along.

"I do. I like The Hip.”

The corner of his mouth lifted in a cheeky smile, “I can do Hall and Oates, so we're good.”

Tessa looked back to find Charlie soundly asleep, clutching the new teddy bear in front of her body with her head laying on the top of the stuffed animal who now had a name: Everest - or Eve for short. Somehow, Tessa knew that it was from this cartoon called Paw Patrol; and if anyone asked, she could recite the name of all the other characters too.

“I guess someone is tired.”

“Too much excitement for one day.”

“For all of us.” Tessa lifted a hand to brush the hair on the nape of his neck, and Scott found too much comfort in that.

“Let's have dinner.” He burst out, and Tessa cocked her head to the side to look at him.

“We just ate.” They had spent the entire day eating in fact.

“No. I mean tomorrow. Just you and me. After I put Charlie in bed I can come over and take you to a fancy restaurant that forces me to wear adult clothes.”

Tessa muffled a laugh “you don't have to.”

“I want to, Tessa.” The conviction in his words made her pause.

“I'd love to." She told him, and he squeezed her knee.

"It's a date, then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you know about Charlie's mom, and they set some new ground rules :) 
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.  
> Thank you so much for all your comments and for keeping up with this story!
> 
> twitter: claire_smh
> 
> edit: Considering the last fandom developments, I wanted to say I'm not deleting any of my fics and I'm gonna finish both little darling and coming home :)


	12. I'm yours to keep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, 
> 
> I know it's been almost 3 months since the last update, and I hope at least some of are still around here. There's still 13 chapters until the end + some outtakes. It's a lot, I know, but I promise I'll post everything.
> 
> This is not betaed since I wanted to post as soon as I finished, so I'm sorry for the grammar mess.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

**Tessa**  
We're going on a dinner date today  
  
**Jordan**  
You are?  
Good  
Did you buy new lingerie? Just in case.  
you must be thirsty, it's been a while  
  
**Tessa**  
Jesus, thanks Jordan.  
And in fact I did, on the day you found your wedding dress  
  
**Jordan**  
Sneaky  
I'm shocked you still didn't put it to use  
  
**Tessa**  
My sister is a nosy bitch sometimes  
  
**Jordan**  
Hey, I already said I'm sorry  
And you should tell your sister to fuck off sometimes  
  
**Tessa**  
Noted  
  
**Jordan**  
Just don't push your luck  
But seriously you had a celebrity crush on him since you were like 18?  
The first thing you should have done was to have a grab of that butt, naked preferably  
it has to be worth it  
  
**Tessa**  
Thanks for telling me this now  
  
**Jordan**  
Don't put all the blame on me, it was your mess  
Mostly  
  
**Tessa**  
I need to go, he'll be here any minute.  
  
**Jordan**  
Okay. FYI I expect a full report asap  
Have fun sis 🍑🍑🍑🍑  
  
Tessa chuckled at the last message - Scott had arrived right after she tapped send and she missed her sister's reply.

Alone, she tucked her phone back into the small, black purse, thinking about Christmas day and the words Jordan whispered into the ear: "You could literally go after him, you know? The man will never know what hit him." And there she was, waiting for her date to return to their table in a quiet corner of the restaurant he had chosen in London.

Scott had left for a minute to answer his phone, and it gave her time to process everything that was happening.

Looking at the deep red drink swirling inside of the crystal wine glass, she brushed the tip of her index finger up and down the delicate stem. Tessa took a sip, and the full-bodied, soft taste in her tongue travelled down her throat and left a feeling of warmth with just a little touch of dryness. Tessa was slightly light-headed, but she suspected it was not the wine's fault

The heat that tinted her cheeks came from inside, and not from the elegant surroundings. She was a bit giggly as happiness tickled her heart to the new pace of intimacy and discover that made her feel like a girl having her firsts.

Her eyes moved up like a magnet, and she saw Scott walking to her from across the hall between the tables covered with white linen and fine porcelain. Beautiful people dressed in their best clothes and the whispered talks mixed with the soft instrumental music around her; but everything became a blur when their eyes met and his smile mirrored hers.

She was not a girl, she was a woman who had kissed that man a handful of times, and knew exactly what she wanted from him that night.

"All good?" Tessa asked when he was close enough to hear her husky voice.

The wavering flame of a candle, placed in the centre of the table for two, danced in her green iris and he didn't resist the urge to kissed her wine-stained lips when she tilted her head up for him.

"Yes," He said, sitting down in front of her. "It was my brother. He called to invite me to the pub with some friends. I said I was in a better company."

"Oh, very smooth, Moir."

As soon as they got together, she had lost track of time, wrapped in the moment and the man charming her non-stop; he knew the right thing to say to a woman and he had some good moves. But so had she.

"I am." Scott gathered her hand in his, brushing the nodes of her fingers with his thumb. "But I know he actually just wanted to tease me about being on a date, I doubt my sister in law would let him go out with four kids under their watch."

Tessa knew Charlie was at her uncle's house doing a sleepover with her cousins. "They all want to meet you. You know that, right?"

"I figured," she said. "How many people are we talking about?”

Scott stopped for a second and counted as he thought about the names.

“Roughly, 9 people plus Charlotte and I, but that's only the immediate family.

“Jesus."

“You have no idea what you're getting yourself into.”

Tessa shrugged her shoulders saying the same Scott had told her in the day before: “I'm all in.”

The bright smile and the soft kiss on her knuckles showed how kin he was to that answer. “Are you ready for dessert?" His soft voice brushed against the skin of her fingers.

“Always.”

They chose the Opera Entremet for her and the Crème brûlée for him - or Tessa picked, and he just went with it. He wanted to give her everything that night.

“This is so good.” She moaned silently, but the small sound echoed through his body. “There's a Café in Paris, they make my favourite desserts, and this is just as good. Have you ever been to France?”

Scott watched as she elevated the spoon, closing her lips around the delicate bite. He could almost taste the structure breaking to burst into the chocolate and coffee flavour around her tongue and mix with her unique taste.

He had tasted wine from her lips, and coffee. And he had memorised her taste by now, but how would she taste with chocolate? Or in a morning after, naked in his bed? His heart pounded against his ribs to that thought, and his palms became cold despite the fire running through his veins.

“Once, some time ago.” His voice wavered, and Tessa tilted her head, intrigued. She saw the burning in his eyes and smiled sheepishly; she hadn't done anything yet.

“It's my favourite place in the world.”

Yes, she had mentioned it, but Scott didn't want her to stop talking, he craved for her voice too, velvety, and just a little rough from the wine. “What do you love most about it?”

“Everything?” She chuckled lightly, diving the spoon once more into the thin layers of mousse.

She looked down at the desert, thinking about the century-old pavements and tasting the salty air of Cote d'Azur from her memory.

“It's just my happy place. In the first summer holiday after my parents got divorced, my mom took my sister and me to this little Villa in Nice. We spent the best two weeks in our bubble, eating pastries, soaking in the pool and walking along the shoreline. For the time being, I forgot about everything that was happening at home and just enjoyed it," she told him open-hearted.

Tessa was still unsure about how to voice this part of her life, but it was only fair he knew those things she kept away from books and the public domain since they were trying to build this new relationship.

"We've been going there since then, it's a little tradition we have. The only year I missed it was 2017 because of training."

Scott crawled his long finger under her hand and over the beating pulse of the inside of her pale wrist. The whisper of a touch made her shiver, and Tessa looked down when he turned her hand palm up to trail the bluish veins coming through her skin and the small mounds on her palm, over the lines that painted an "M" shape inside of her hand.

"I get the feeling I don't know the same France you do, are men allowed into your summer holiday?" Scott waved their fingers together, changing the tone of the conversation. He wanted to know everything, in fact, he was more curious than he let it show, but he wanted that night to be just them and some good time together.

She looked at their fingers intertwined loosely - such a small gesture, yet so powerful - and then back at him. _Yes, we have time for it. Tomorrow_ , Tessa agreed in silence and her finger curled around the back his hand.

"Well, this year was the last year of Jordan being unmarried, we might have to make some adaptations," she thought out loud.

They fitted Ben into their traditions naturally, but maybe Tessa would also have a plus one the next time they went to France? Tessa let herself wonder. Or a plus two since she couldn't imagine Scott letting Charlie behind.

"I'd be happy to show you this place someday," she spoke,

"I'd like that."

"Did Charlie ever travel abroad?"

"No." He smiled at the mention of his daughter. "in the summers, we usually come here or go to the lake house."

"I think Charlie would enjoy the beach."

That night was a night for promising, and to marvel at the possibilities of a future together.

"She certainly would," Scott replied softly.

Tessa always spoke about Charlie with a specific tone, his ears were now used to hear the gentleness she dedicated only to his daughter.

She would always include her in their conversations so naturally, even when they were wrapped in the bubble they were slowly crafting. He knew this was probably what made the woman in front of him so beautiful to his heart.

He looked straight into her eyes, reading the shine around the dilated pupils. Scott had never seen her eyes as green or as famished, making him want to kiss her so desperately that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop once he started.

"What is it?" Tessa asked with a small, teasing smile. _Kiss me_ , every inch of her dared him to as if she had read his thoughts.

Scott swallowed his urge in a big gulp and said: "Should I ask for the check?"

Tessa chuckled lightly. "Please," she replied.

 

* * *

 

He cupped her face and skimmed his lips over the apples of her cheek, the tip of her nose and her mouth. Tessa closed her eyes and raised her chin up to gather his lip between her teeth, scraping the inside lightly and Scott smiled against her mouth as she moulded her body against his.

Every inch of her touched him; they didn't care to be outside, there was enough heat between them to keep two bodies warm for a lifetime.

"Are you just going to give me a goodnight kiss and let me take the matters in my own hands?"

The image of her pleasuring herself flooded his senses, and he tightened his grip on her upper arms. "God, Tessa." He breathed heavily.

"God has nothing to do with what I want to do tonight, Scott."

"Are you drunk?"

"Tipsy, but it doesn't change a thing. I'm just a bit more talkative. And handsy." She grazed her lips over his sharp jawline at the same pace that her hand circled his waist and moved down his back to cup his butt. Finally.

His crotch pressed further into hers, and Scott repeated her name before she took a step back, leaving his hands empty and the cold air crossed the corridor between their bodies. He watched as Tessa walked to the door and pushed it open, only then she turned back to him outstretching one hand; Scott grabbed it promptly,

She was the one who led the way through the warm, opulent hotel lobby - or at least he deduced it was since he couldn't find the strength to look around; Scott's eyes were glued to the back of her head, her silk waves bounced over the dark winter coat, releasing the sweet perfume he was now addicted to.

He heard Tessa greeting the front desk man cordially, but when the cue registered to his brain, they were already standing in front of the lift with a handful of other people.

Squaring his shoulders when he saw an old lady who probably had the age to be his granny, Scott forced himself to stand half a step away from Tessa. She looked up at him and smiled with the humour and provocativeness flashing in her eyes.

The heat coming from his body was packed with desire and Tessa tightened her grip on him, taking the joined hands to rest over her belly as they stepped into the lift

His back was pressed against the mirror wall and her butt sitting against his thighs. The tip of his finger slid over the structured seams on the body of her black dress, feeling her taut abs. He could not wait to see her naked; under him; over him; surrounding him.

Scott tucked his face on the curve of her neck, muffling an impatient groan as the lift stopped in every possible floor.

"Why did you choose the last floor?" He whispered.

"The view is great," Tessa replied nonchalantly.

"You don't need a view, I'll give you a fucking awesome view."

"I'm counting on that too." She chuckled and laid her head back on his shoulder. Scott nudged the side of her hair with the hazel eyes fixated on the panel flashing the changing numbers. The old lady only left on the floor below Tessa's with a knowing smile at the young couple and a good night.

"Jesus," Scott murmured when the doors closed again. He blushed like a 10-year-old boy caught stealing from the cookie jar.

Tessa turned around and grabbed the lapels of his dark blazer to plant a noisy kiss on his lips. "You're cute when you're embarrassed."

He heard the ding of the lift again. "Amen."

Despite the persistent lips nibbling the skin of her neck, her hands were surprisingly steady when Tessa got the key card from her purse to insert in the slot. She was a woman on a mission.

Tessa pushed the door open, and quickly pulled him along to the semi-darkness of her hotel suite. The bluish city nightlights invaded her room from one corner while the yellow lamp spread a warm light over them. Scott had shut the door behind with his hips and his mouth never left her; his hands circled around her waist and up to her bare sternum between the deep V neck of her dress.

"Did I tell you how much I loved this dress on you?" If the hoarse voice tickling her ear was not indicative enough of his desire, the hardness she felt pressing on her lower back left no doubt.

"No, but I'm glad. I only wore it so you could take it off."

Scott had been getting snippets of that fire, and he was absolutely ready for the full blown.

"Then, I won't disappoint."

She felt his finger tracing the lace on the edge of the dress, ghosting her smooth skin. Her heavy head sat on his shoulder while Scott rubbed his other hand over her left breast, feeling the hardening nipple under his palm on his way to her shoulder. He brushed the coat off her, and she turned around to do the same to him, unbuttoning the crisp white shirt with hurried fingers next.

Before her, stood a man just as toned as she pictured in her head and just as strong as she felt every time those generous arms held her.

Tessa touched the mass of muscles on his chest, and he watched her long, manicured nails grazing down his body, awakening the spasms of pleasure in his underbelly when she reached the waistline of his black trousers to run her finger between the fabric and his skin.

As those green eyes of her looked up to see his reaction, his gaze was on her hand. She swallowed his short breaths in a rapid impulse, kissing him hungrily. Scott soon matched her pace, giving more than she could ever demand.

"Your taste, Tessa, I've never had anything better," he said in between kisses

"We just had a $100 bottle of wine, Scott."

"No, it's you. You're better, hands down."

"You're are drunk."

He looked up at her, straightening his face to level his eyes to hers and used both his hands to comb her loose hair back on the sides. "Just tipsy," Scott retorted with a lopsided grin.

"Touché."

Tessa pushed him back until the back of his knees hit the edge of the mattress and made him sit down on the soft cream sheets. She curved over him and Scott didn't let go of her waist, kissing her, biting her upper lip. Her hands pulled the hair on the back of his head, forcing him to tilt his chin up to deepen the kiss.

She detached herself from his grip when the air didn't reach her lungs anymore and Scott took a moment to breathe in the exquisite image before him. Tessa moved her hands down her shoulders and pulled along the thin straps until her dress bunched up around her waist.

"I thought I was supposed to take your dress off," Scott spoke, watching her fingers glide along the black lace.

"It's just a little help." Tessa undid the zipper on the side of the hip and let the fabric caress her skin till it hit the floor.

She stepped away from the dress and stood before him wearing only a pair of black knickers and matching high heels pumps. They would have time for the fancy satin lingerie she bought; she would dress up for him with a garter belt and everything because she loved that stuff. But that night she just wanted to bare herself to him and watch the fire creeping in his eyes consume both of them to ashes.

She wanted him to look at her and envision her body under that dress; she wanted to be at an arm reach the entire dinner but knowing he couldn't touch her there, not until later.

When she realised how exposed she was, body and soul, she thought about covering herself. But his desire made her feel beautiful, small breasts, defined muscles and all. She was not a petite woman still, around him she looked delicate and tiny as much as she felt fierce.

“God, Tessa, you're so fucking gorgeous,” he murmured. Scott raised his hand to touch her as if she was a goddess and she closed the space between them, made herself reachable.

His hand covered her belly, caressing her smooth skin, and his lips left a trail of open mouth kisses on his way up her breast. He closed his mouth around the rosy nipples, and his name escaped her lips in a breath, “Scott”.

He was the only thing she could think about.

Tessa straddled him, setting one knee on each side of his thighs and held onto his shoulders tightly, Scott ran a thumb down her belly button, pushing the fabric of her panties aside to touch her as he brought his mouth up to her ear “Do you have any idea of how many time I pictured myself touching you like this? Hearing you breathe my name?”

She shook her head, unable to speak once he slid his finger between her folds and her wetness coated his thumb before he started circling around her clit in a gentle, but steady motion.

"I thought about you, so many times. About your legs around me, shackling my hips between your thighs," he whispered roughly, His breathing tickled his neck when he circled his free hand around her waist, digging his fingers into her the firm ass cheeks. "Your strength aroused me, Tessa. Your body. Your face. You."

She felt his words and read his body's language in the throbbing erection that rubbed against her sex repeatedly as the feminine hips swayed around and around.

"Take me," She gulped after the words scraped her throat and spoke again: "Take me, Scott, all of me."

It cost her a life, but she raised her bottom from his lap and Scott undid his fly. Before he ran the trousers down his legs, his fingers fished a condom from his back pocket to drop it on the mattress by his side. Tessa watched as his cock sprang free from the black boxers and he rolled the condom over his penis.

Breathing through parted lips, her mouth became dry as she anticipated the moment his thick cock would stretch her apart and fill her entirely.

Tessa sank into him once he had discarded the last piece of fabric between them and wrapped herself tightly around Scott in every possible way. He didn't disappoint at all. The glorious moment of when their bodies were linked thoughtfully was better than she ever dreamed.

Her hands gripped him in response as he guided her hips up and down, holding it firmly between his hands. Her teeth would leave a mark on her shoulder from muffling groans against his hot skin every time she felt him hitting her as deep as he could, over and over again.

They quickly found out they had a rhythm of their own, bread from urgent desire and an insatiable satisfaction found in each other's body.

Breathless gasps filled the night air around them; the smell of her sweet perfume mixed to his musky scent created something unique and her skin glittered under the half-light as the small beads of sweat made her salty to his tongue.

When Scott started to feel her grip tighter around him, he let go of the last bit of self-control he still possessed and surrender himself to her pleasure. He followed her when the overpowering sensations made her back arch up and her body shake over his stiffened body saying each others' name in pure devotion.

 

* * *

 

Scott heard the phone ringing before he opened his eyes. He quickly hit the side button to silence the continuous tune so he would have time to get up and unwillingly tore himself from the warm body pressed to his side.

As soon as Tessa felt his absence, the clarity coming from the widely parted curtains urged her eyes to open and she grumbled against the pillow with his scent, shielding her look from the morning sun.

A rough, muffled voice came from the adjoining bathroom and she smiled to herself in content bliss; she couldn't remember a night she had so little sleep and she felt so well. She curled further into herself, trying to keep the memory of his touch over her skin. And when Tessa opened her eyes again to watch the view she chose the room for, she quickly discovered that the images in her head had a greater appeal.

"Hey," Scott grinned at Tessa's sleepy eyes watching him when he exited the bathroom. "Sorry if I woke you up, I had to answer this."

"Is Charlie ok?"

"Sure, my sister in law texted me a full report and everything seems to be ok." He rose his phone casually and continued: "mom just called to tell me she is going to pick her up for lunch."

Tessa felt very self-conscious about the fact that she knew his mom, and Alma knew where her son was: having a sleepover with her granddaughter's coach. But it was still too early in the morning to let herself worry about it. Besides, Scott was completely naked before her, and she really loved _that_ view.

"Okay then." Tessa lifted the duvet for him in an invitation and he tucked himself in, hiis head laid next to her, so close their noses almost touched.

"Good morning." He kissed her softly, laying a hand on her bare waist.

"Morning to you. Did you sleep well?

"Very."

Tessa touched his jawline, pecking his lips once "I never thought you were a cuddler, Moir."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You invaded my side of the bed in the middle of the night."

He raised an eyebrow to her, "did I?"

"Yeah, and you're quite a heavy sleeper too."

"Sorry, I don't know the dynamic of sharing a bed, the only girl who sleeps with me only occupies a quarter of my bed back home. Maximum."

"Fair enough. Are you sure Charlie is not going to miss you when she gets home?"

"She's spoiled rotten by my family when we are here, I doubt she'll even remember she has a father."

Tessa snorted. "As if." She paused for a second before she asked: "Does Charlie knows about our new arrangement?"

"No, not yet. I don't think it will be a problem, she loves you, Tessa," Scott reassured her. "Little Charlie said to everyone that Tess was her best friends in the whole world."

His thumb traced light circles around her waist, making it quite difficult to focus on their conversation especially when sleep still clung to her brain cells.

“I thought Tracy was her best friend…” Tessa finally spoke, keeping her eyes on his.

“She once told me Tracy was her little best friend, you are different because you’re big like me.”  
  
It was the kind of answer Tessa imagined Charlie would give.

"Charlie always has an answer to everything,” she replied, with a sweet smile playing on her lips.

"She does, it’s quite challenging to measure up sometimes. If I don't restrain myself, she can easily get under my skin with a couple of words. She's so clever, it amazes me."

Tessa turned around, setting her hands on his bare chest and her chin on top, the move made him look at her closely. Her hair was a mess, she didn't have any makeup on, and her lips were a bit swollen from his kisses. She never looked more beautiful.  
  
"She's different from the other kids at the rink, you know... She's a great skater and she could be an amazing athlete. But her little mind is always a step ahead of the others, even the older ones. She doesn't talk much, but when she does, she's always assertive, she always has a good question on the tip of her tongue that makes me stop and think about the answer. I suspect she will be great in anything she chooses to do,"

"God, I hope so. The only thing that worries me is her insecurities."

"Apart from your problem of being late, you do your best, Scott, you give her love and your time, there's nothing more precious than that."

"I hope it will be enough."

"I'm sure it will. I was raised by my mom and she gave me everything I ever needed and more."

"You turned up quite alright, I guess." Scott squeezed her bare shoulders and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Well, thanks."

He combed her hair back with his fingers to look into her eyes "But seriously if Charlie turns up anything like you, I'll be one hell of a proud parent. She can play hockey, be a figure skater, a teacher, a scientist, anything she wants to be, as long she's a good person and happy, then I'll know I've done my job well."

"Thank you." He saw the blush tinting her cheeks right before she hid her face under her hair again, kissing the bare skin of his chest above his heart. "Do you think I'm happy?"

"After the multiple orgasms I gave you last night, I sure hope you are."

Tessa threw her head back in a heartfelt laugh, "we are even."

"Not quite, but I'm very, very happy right now." Scott patted her smooth butt under the covers, watching the change in her eyes from carefree joyful to the playful minx now uncovered.

"I'm a very fair person, I don't like any injustices."

"We should fix this, then."

Tessa kissed him. "My mistake, I'll fix it. Sit back and enjoy, mate,” she said before disappearing under the covers.

 

* * *

 

The bell chimed when Scott pushed the door open for Tessa. “Thanks,” she mumbled, and her eyes quickly darted to the aisles in front of them.

The plants covered the floor to the ceiling in a variety of shapes and shades of green. Some were suspended and others sat in a shelf disguised by foliage sprinkled with colours from the flowers.

"Hey Scott," said the man coming from a door behind the counter, his voice was almost muffled by the thick moustache sitting on top of his upper lip.

He took off the deep green apron covering this plaid blue shirt and laid on the back of the closest chair neatly.

"Hi Mr Manner, sorry for coming so late, you are probably already closing." Scott walked to the counter and promptly received a warm pat on the back.

He had brought a change of clothes to keep in his truck for an overnight, so he changed the button down for a thick sweater and the trousers for faded jeans, matching Tessa's casual outfit.

"Don't worry, son, take your time." He set his eyes on the woman looking at the yellow pansies. "Are you looking for something special?"

He raised his chin pointing to Tessa. "This girl wants some pretty flowers."

She raised her head and looked at the older man with a polite smile and greeted him.

"Hello miss." The man suppressed the urge to raise his eyebrows.

The younger Moir boy wasn't a frequent customer, in fact, he couldn't remember a time he bought flowers from him apart from some roses for his mom for a mothers' day now and then. Sometimes he would call from Toronto and ask him to send a dozen to his mother's house on the occasion.

But to see him there with that beautiful young woman was a new event in town.

"What flowers your mom likes, Scott?" Tessa asked.

She had insisted she wasn't going to show up at his mom's empty-handed so she asked to stop by some flower shop on their way to Ilderton and that was the only one he knew.

"I always send her roses." He shrugged.

 _Not her favourite, though_ , Mr manner thought. Joe always picked pink lilies for Alma or an orchid.

Tessa grimaced at the mention of roses, and he wondered what kind of flower she liked. Scott's friend definitely didn't look like a roses type of girl.  

"I have some fresh winter roses if you want to take a look."

She tilted her head slightly and stopped for a second, Scott was amused about how serious she was taking all this. it was kinda cute. "It might work, yes." He heard her saying and the florist disappeared into the back to fetch the flowers.

"For your information, I don't like roses, peonies are my favourites," she pushed her index finger to his chest to emphasise her words

"Noted." Scott pulled her by the lapel of her blue coat and brushed a hand over the silk of her blouse, around her waist under the heavy fabric keeping her warm, until her body touched his. "Flowers wouldn't be my first option, I'd probably give you chocolate."

"Clever, but a girl likes flowers too occasionally.".

"Are you educating me in the art of dating girls? I'm not a monk you know."

"I thought we established that dating is different from the booty calls you are used to."

"I learn fast, and I consider myself a pretty good connoisseur of Tessa Virtue."

Tessa chuckled to the way he puckered his lips attempting a French scent. "I'll be the one to judge it, Moir."

When Mr Manner came back with the flowers, Tessa was mesmerized by delicate and beautiful bouquet, he had mixed two colours of winter rose, the cream coloured ones and some blush pink, with baby breaths in a bed of green leaves.

"It's perfect,” Tessa said for a second time when she took the bouquet carefully in her arms after she had paid for it. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome." He smiled. "Happy new year to you."

"Thank Mr Manner, to you too," Scott replied. "Can we go now?" He asked Tessa gently and she nodded.

They said their goodbyes and their hands automatically searched each other, linking their fingers together loosely as Scott walked in front of Tessa to open the door for her. The bell chimed again and Mr Manner smiled to himself when the door closed; he loved seeing a new couple flourish.

 

* * *

  
  
"Mom!" Scott braved from the doorstep. "I'm home."

"Daddy!" Charlie marched down the stairs in a ray of speed and clung to his legs.

"Hey, baby." He picked her up and squeezed her petite body against his. Tessa stood a step back and the hand previously holding his, moved to his hip, shielding behind his broad frame.  
  
"I brought Tessa to spend the evening with us," Scott whispered to his daughter, but Tessa could hear perfectly. "Is that okay?"

Before he said the last word, Charlie squealed in delight. "Yes!"  
  
Scott stepped aside and got the flowers from Tessa before it could be crashed by Charlie. When the girl saw the subject of her deep affection, she threw her arms around her neck and wrapped her legs around the thin waist over her coat. The way they held onto each other never ceased to make Scott smile.  
  
"Hello, darling." Tessa nuzzled the hair behind her ear and kissed where her nose had touched.

"Hi, Tess."  
  
"Scott!" An older voice joined them and the three of them turned to look at the portal decorated with lights and a green garland with mini pine cones.  
  
Alma stepped into the hall, sporting a bright smile as she dried her hands in a festive Christmas tea towel.

"Hi, mom." He went to give her a hug, but the woman walked straight to Tessa, ignoring her son.

"I'm so glad you're here, Tessa." Alma placed a hand on Tessa's upper arm, holding her granddaughter. Charlie laid her head on Tessa's shoulder, sighing in content. Her body was so petite against Tessa's that she could easily support Charlie's weight with one arm; Scott handed her the flowers and Alma watched the exchange closely.

Tessa reached out the bouquet, "We stopped on a flower shop when our way here, I wanted to thank you for inviting me, Mrs Moir." Or should she call her Alma? Technically they were past the second name base, but that was before she was the girl Scott was bringing home to spend the evening with his family.  
  
Alma looked down to the armful of flowers and the thing she noticed was that it wasn't her son who chose it, otherwise she would be getting roses. And the second thing was how unexpected and thoughtful this gesture had been. "You really didn't need to do it. But they are lovely. Thank you, Tessa, it's our pleasure to have you here."

She wanted to hug her, but Charlie monopolised Tessa do herself and maybe the young woman needed some little time to get used to the in-law's label before she felt comfortable enough for some spontaneous display of affection.

"Charlie, can you please call your grandpa? he's in the garage," she gently asked her granddaughter, laying a hand on her back.  
  
She looked at Tessa and back to Alma.

"Don't worry, Tessa is staying right here, I'll make sure of it" Alma winked at Charlie and her body moved away from Tessa's a bit.

"Okay," she finally said and Tessa put Charlie down. She promptly ran away in the purple sweater and frilly skirt over black tights.  
  
Scott helped Tessa out of her coat and put in the hanger between his and Charlie's.

"Come on," Alma said, "I'm finishing the food."

"Do you need some help?" Tessa quickly asked as Scott guided her with a hand on the small of her back through the decorated arch and into a corridor with light-coloured wallpaper and a handful of family photos pinned to the wall on both sides.

"Don't worry, everything is under control," Alma assured her, entering the kitchen. "Scott, be a good boy and offer her something to drink."

"Yes, Ma’am."

Tessa put a hand on his chest to stop him, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

“Are you sure?” Tessa nodded and Scott walked to the double doors fridge to grab a bottle of beer. Tessa stood in the entrance absorbing all those new pieces of information.  
  
The kitchen was hotter than the rest of the house seeing all the fires were lit and working in full power. The oven was on too, and that was a lot of food. But then she remembered the number of people that were part of his family and it made sense.  
  
Alma's kitchen was so different from her mother's. The fridge doors were covered in drawings and magnets that typically would make no sense together, but in that place, they did. She counted at least three “I heart grandpa & grandma” magnets and an impressive collection of souvenirs ones among printed photos and children’s drawings.    
  
There was no white, minimalist décor as in her mother’s kitchen, on the contrary: dark wood covered the cupboards and the surfaces, a breakfast table sat in one side of the room with colourful placemats. Some of the colours apparently came from a sneaky vibrant marker or some accidental splash of juice or red sauce.

Tessa watched Alma from across the room, dressed comfortably in a pair of slacks and a bright red sweater. She filled a tall, crystal vase with water and arranged the flowers carefully before she turned away from the sink to set the vase in the centre of the table.

“I hope you like Mexican food, Tessa. We are having a Tacos buffet,” Alma said when their eyes met.

“Oh, I forgot to say Tessa don't like it.”

Alma looked hastily at her son leaning against the counter beside the fridge casually. “Scott! You should have told me!”

“Scott!” Tessa protested in a tone similar to his mom. “Don’t mind him, Mrs Moir, he doesn’t know a thing, I love Mexican food.”  
  
Alma looked between Tessa and Scott setting her eyes on her son; she squinted her eyes to him and the childish smile playing on his lips gave him away. Alma sent a glare Scott's way and turned to Tessa in a sweeter manner. "I'm glad. But we are past the Mrs Moir phase, right? You can still call me Alma, Tessa."  
  
Tessa felt her cheeks warming up and the blush staining her face red. "Right. Alma."  
  
Scott laughed under his breath.

When Alma went back to the pot to stir the red sauce being cooked, her son walked to stand beside Tessa leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear, "relax Ms Virtue."  
  
"Easy for you to say."  
  
"Mom likes you almost as much as Charlie does." He rested a hand on the small of her back and kissed her cheek.  
  
"But I'm not just Charlie's coach anymore," she mumbled to him, leaning away from his touch.  
  
_Oh not so fast, Tessa._  
  
He pulled her to the side of his body in one single pull, making her lose her balance and being forced to hold onto to him. "Mom," Scott called.  
  
"What Scott?" She didn't turn around.  
  
"You know Tessa is my girlfriend now, don't you?"  
  
Alma looked over her shoulder for a second, but save the smiled to when she faced the wall again. "I assumed, yes."  
  
"Jesus Scott." Tessa hid her face on his shoulder, and he kissed her hair, squeezing her body against his side.  
  
"Now give the girl a rest, you'll scare her away before you can say girlfriend again."  
  
"See, it's like ripping a band-aid, all done now."  
  
When Joe stepped into to kitchen, Alma was the first to notice his presence. They exchanged a look and a few mute words in the language they had perfected during almost fifty years of marriage. He then looked at the other side, and the girl standing with her son quickly squared her small shoulders in the deep red blouse, the colour complimented her fair skin and long, dark hair.  
  
"That's Tessa, grandpa." Charlie informed him, holding his hand tightly.  
  
"Why don't you introduce me to her, Charlie?"  
  
She nodded, pulling him forward until they stood just a couple of steps from each other. Tessa looked a little unsure of what she should do with her hands and ended up holding them both in front of her body in a very formal posture.  
  
"Tessa." Charlie started. "This is my grandpa Joe."  
  
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Tessa, we hear your name a lot around here nowadays," he shot a glance at Charlie before he stuck a hand out for her. If she was comfortable with formal, he could be formal.

In response, Tessa immediately unlinked her hands to shake his.  
  
"Thank you, Mr Moir."  
  
"Joe," he corrected softly. In an affectionate gesture, he put his free hand on top of hers.  
  
"Joe," Tessa repeated, nodding her head and shaking his hand at the same time. "It's very nice to meet you, thank you for having me today."  
  
"We are happy you could come, please make yourself home." Joe smiled sympathetically, his eyes were kind behind the clear glasses and his tone had some resemblance to when Scott was talking smoothly with Charlie. The doting posture and warmth apparently ran in the Moir blood, Tessa thought.  
  
"Thank you."  She was stuck with these two words in the last five minutes as if her brain had become a pile of mush. Which was pretty much accurate.

Tessa didn't know why she expected anything other them a generous welcome from that family since she already knew all of them through Charlie's eyes. And there was nothing sincerer and purer to Tessa than Charlotte Moir's point of view. She knew about her uncle Charlie, and that she had an aunt Tessa, who was the mother of Masen, but she has not married to uncle Charlie, she was married to uncle Danny who was the older brother of her father. There was aunt Nicole too, the mother of Quinn and Cruz.

From her periphery, she could see Scott with a crooked smile on his face, drinking his beer away as if he was watching a Leafs' Game. She could barely wait for when he met his mom, or Jordan – especially Jordan; Tessa would have the time of her life.  
  
At least he didn’t leave her side, and the hand on the small of her back didn't move.

 _Just relax, Tessa._ She commanded herself with his words.  
  
Charlie stepped forward and placed herself between Tessa and her grandfather turning to her dad. "Can I show Tessa what I got from Christmas now, please?"

"I should help your grandmother, Charlie," Tessa said.

"Go on,” two pairs of expectant eyes looked up at Scott in sync. ”I will help mom if she needs anything."

“Thanks, Dad! Come, Tess!”

“If you need anything just call me,” Tessa had time to say before Charlie urged her out of the kitchen.

“Don’t worry.” Scott winked at her as he watched the two disappearing.  
  
The silence didn't last long, only until Alma was sure her guest couldn't hear. "I like her."

"I know that, mom."

Scott set the empty bottle of beer on the table and crossed his arms, still looking to the door.

"No, I mean, I really like seeing you together, the three of you."

"I like having her around too."

“Be sure to keep this one around, son,” Joe said, and Scott turned to his father, his forehead showed some creases as he looked at the older man.

His father wasn’t the one to speak much about his sons’ personal matters, but his approval was still important to them all.

Scott nodded once “I will, dad.”

 

* * *

 

Scott found Tessa and Charlie in his old room, surrounded by her many Christmas presents. Tessa listened attentively to everything Charlie said about how a certain toy worked.

He leaned against the doorframe and watched them for as long as his presence was ignored. When Tessa looked up and smiled at him, Charlie turned her head and acknowledged his presence. "Hi, dad,"

"Hello to you, what you are up to?"

"I'm showing Tessa my new toys and we are going to colour together later."

"That sounds fun. Can I join in?"

She looked at Tessa as if she asked her permission for the boy to intrude the girl moment and received a nod back.

"You can," Charlie told her father.

"Thanks, baby. We can go downstairs, there's more space to spread all those new pens you got." And less risk to stain the brand new, grey thrown his mom had put on the bed.

"Kay." She nodded, gathering all the pens to put back into the case carefully.

"But before, I wanted to talk to you for a minute, can we?"

Charlie stopped, detecting a slightly serious tone is her father's voice. She cocked her head and mumbled a "yes", sweeping her eyes between Scott and Tessa when they exchanged a look in silence.

Scott sat by the end of the bed, besides Tessa, and put the girl on his lap before he started: "Do you remember when I told you, the day Tessa got here, that I was going to meet Tessa and this time you couldn't come because I needed to talk to her first?"

"The adult talk." She replied, having heard that same phrase too many times.

"Yes, the adult talk," Scott confirmed, suppressing a smile when he heard her dull tone. “It was very important because Tessa and I want to spend more time together, but we had to talk about how we would do it.”

She nodded, showing Scott she understood it so far - at least as much as her knowledge would permit.

"Tessa is a very special friend to me, Charlie, and from now on I want her to hang out with us more times outside of the rink, is that ok for you?"

"Uh, yes, daddy. You know she's my big best friend." Charlie whispered and looked at Tessa from the corner of her eyes.

Tessa grinned and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, putting the deep brown wave behind her ear. "And you're my little best friend, Charlie.”

“But that means Tessa and I will spend some time together alone too, and the type of friends we want to be, involves holding hands and kissing each other. Tessa will be my girlfriend and I'll be her boyfriend."

"Like Anna and Kristoff?"

"Like Anna and Kristoff," Tessa confirmed, knowing the Frozen reference.

Scott nodded too, he was well educated in the Disney princess glossary. "Do you think you can share Tessa with me?”

To that, she didn't respond right away.

And seeing her puzzled expression, Tessa interfered: “We’ll still have our time together at the rink and whenever you want to do something, just tell me and we’ll have some girl time, ok?” She explained to Charlie, keeping the mood light.

Nothing had to change, she shouldn’t have to let go of either the time with Tessa or her father. Hopefully, within time, Charlie would naturally realise this new arrangement would add to her life instead of taking anything from her.

“I guess it’s fine.” She shrugged her little shoulders.

“I want you to promise me that if anything ever bothers you about this, you'll tell me right away.” Scott raised his pinkie and Charlie wrapped hers around it.

“I promise, dad.”

Scott squeezed her against his chest and kissed the side of her head. “I love you very much, don’t you ever forget that.”

“I love you too, daddy.”

Scott covered Tessa's hand sitting on the mattress and Charlie look at Tessa. “Can we go painting now?”

“Oh, right. Sure. Let’s take everything downstairs. Will you help me, Charlie?” She asked.

“Yes." Charlie nodded dutifully.

 

* * *

 

“I can't believe uncle Scott is dating Tessa Virtue.” Quinn shout-whispered to her younger cousin.

They were hiding from Cruz in the closet below the stairs just for fun. Cruz was almost 4 years old and he clung to the two older girls like a snail.

“Dating?” Charlie tilted her head sideways, a bit confused. Her sight still had those tiny dots popping randomly as she got used to the darkness.

Quinn had scary shadows over her face because of the light coming from under the door. A chill ran through her spine just before the grain softened out and her cousin's dark brown eyes reflected the tiniest amount of light.

“Like when people in the movies kiss on the mouth all the time and walk holding hands in the park?”

“Your mom and dad do it” So did uncle Charlie and aunt Nicole.

“That's because they are mom and dad. And they are married.” The girl spoke in all of her wisdom. “But it doesn't matter, it's _Tessa Virtue_.”.

“Yes, she teaches me to skate.”

“That's because she's the best skater, she won those big gold medals, I saw on TV.”

Charlie never saw her on TV, but she believed in anything Quinn said, Tessa really was the best skater she knew.

“She taught me to spin really fast, and jump.”

“I bet she can jump really high! Nana didn't teach me how to jump.” Quinn pouted.

“Tess can teach you.”

“Really?” Charlie nodded eagerly. “Can you ask her for me?”

“I can,” and she knew Tessa wouldn't say no.

They heard footsteps approaching and Quinn put a hand over Charlie’s mouth and another over her own. The girls just waited, hoping they wouldn’t be discovered.

When they heard the click of the door handle their eyes grew impossibly big.

“There you are.” The two of them looked up at the man standing on the door: uncle Charlie. A little boy with light brown hair appeared from behind his legs. “You found them, dad!”

“I did buddy.” He ruffled the boy’s hair. “Now you two, get out and go play where we can all see you.”

“But daddy…” Quinn whined.

“Quinn, don’t be like that with your brother, let him play.”

“Where’s Mase? He likes playing with Mase.”

“He already travelled back to his home, remember?”

“Fine.” She huffed and stepped out of the closet with Charlie on her tail. “Come, Charlie, let’s go to your room.”

She led and Charlie and Cruz followed her quickly in silence.

Charlie - the uncle - went back to the dining room where everyone was gathered around the table after the dinner. He took the seat next to his wife, dropping an arm around the back of her chair. Across from him, Scott did the same.

Tessa was even leaning into his side now after some wine and a bit of chat. He really liked her.

"Scotty, have you told Tessa that your daughter is named after your favourite brother?" Charlie teased, gulping his beer straight from the bottle even though his mom had put a glass right in front of his plate. She knew her sons, and that they would ignore the good manners when the alcohol kicked in.

Scott grumbled at the nickname and his comment. Tessa looked at him, intrigued.

"He hates being called Scotty, Tessa," Nicole explained. "And obviously Charlie and Danny love it."

"I'll remember that," Tessa replied.

"And my daughter wasn't named after him, my late grandpa was the one responsible for her name," he said, looking at Tessa. "The first time he met her, he said she looked like a Charlotte. And my brother here made everyone in the family call her Charlie because he likes to think I'd name my daughter after him."

If Tessa remembered correctly, his brother Charlie was the one who helped him out of his breakdown after he found out about Cassandra's pregnancy, and he spoke very fondly of him apart from the usual banter between two siblings.

"Of course." Tessa patted his knee under the table, speaking in a condescending voice.

Charlie let out a belly laugh and Scott huffed. "Brother, not even your girl believes in your bullshit. I'm loving this."

Alma and Joe didn't say much, but they watched the interaction between them all closely. They were both glad to see that Tessa was slowly finding her way around them. Scott followed her every move, paying attention when she grew too silent, sinking in the constant turmoil of information she was receiving. That was when he would squeeze her hand or whisper something into her ear to make her roll her eyes and smile for a second.

 

* * *

 

When Scott's brother left to spend the rest of the night with Nicole's family, the volume got down several notches with only Charlie in the house.

“I should tide the kitchen a bit before the countdown,” Alma said at the door after she closed the door behind her.

“I'll take care of it. Tessa can help me.”

“Yes, of course,” she agreed.

“Go watch some TV with dad and Charlie.”

Alma looked between the two of them. “Okay,” she said in the end.

“Your mom probably thinks we are going to make out in her kitchen,” Tessa spoke as Scott pushed her into the kitchen gently after his mom had gone to the living room.

“Aren’t we?” He circled his arms around her waist and kissed her neck as they walked.

Before she could protest, he urged her to the closest chair in the breakfast table. “Take a seat,” Scott told her.

“What are you doing?”

Tessa watched him closely as he opened the fridge and took a dish out to pop in the microwave for a minute while he opened the cutlery drawer and grabbed a fork to hand her. The microwave beep echoed in the kitchen and he retrieved the white porcelain plate.  
Scott pinched the sides of the rectangular dish “Shit, this is hot.” He quickly took it to the table and placed in front of her.

He shook his finger and popped his thumb on his mouth for a second before he talked: “Here, this is mom's mac n cheese, you will like it. I was kidding earlier, but you don't really like Mexican food, do you? You barely ate anything.”

When Tessa registered his words, she genuinely smiled. “No, I'm not a fan.” She pulled him down by the hem of his sweater to reach his lips and kiss him “Thank you.”

The smell itself was amazing and she didn't realize she was hungry until she tasted the crispy cheese topping and the creamy pasta.

“It's really good.” Tessa covered her mouth to speak.

Scott leaned over her shoulder and she gave him the fork; he took a mouthful himself and indeed it was as good as it always had been.

“It's amazing how mom makes it taste the same since I was a kid.” He moved to the sink, to start cleaning the plates piled up by the sink.

“I’ll help you.” Tessa started.

“Don’t. Eat your dinner, I’ll finish this in a second.” Scott looked over his shoulder with one of his easy smiles and she replied with the same gesture.

Tessa focused on watching him, she loved to see his hand continuously working. She remembered the first time she saw him untying Charlie’s laces and noticed how long his fingers were and how it looked like he could easily sustain the entire world with them.

She remembered how she wondered if those hands could hold her too, and how she fought those ideas in the beginning. But look where they were now.

Tessa heard the clatter of the fork scraping the porcelain, and in the background, the noise coming from the adjoining room was some country music probably from the show being broadcasted from a New Year’s Eve celebration on the street across the country.

Charlie’s voice topped the noise along her grandfather’s; they were apparently having a serious chat about how the fireworks exploded in the air and produced colours.

Never in a million years, she imagined herself in a situation such as the one she was living. Scott was doing the dishes, she was eating dinner in Scott Moir’s parents’ house.

Her 2019 had started at a busy club in Toronto, with her sister, Ben, and a couple of their friends. She liked to go out to dance and have a drink and it sounded like a nice way to end such a special year that was 2018.

In some ways, she thought she would never have a year so eventful as 2018, the year she reached the top of her career, the year she chose to step away from competition and face the challenge of a life without all the thrill and adrenaline she grew addicted to in the 21 years, constantly testing the limits of her body and her mind.

But life proved her wrong, and she was currently living this sweet feeling of a new romance and something more that she was still discovering what it was. In her mind, she couldn’t find the words to describe this thing that was happening to her. But in her heart, she felt warm, and cosy, like when she was with her mom and her sister in a Christmas Eve at her childhood home, but this was still different.

The faces that came to her mind were Scott’s and Charlie’s and the place was that house, her own house, the rink… she couldn’t picture a single place, she could picture just the two of them.

That was how she had ended 2019 and stepped into 2020. Sitting in Alma’s couch, with Scott arms wrapped around her shoulder, her head rested on his left side, and Charlie between them.

The little girl had protested when Scott picked her up from the couch half an hour before the countdown to take her upstairs. Even though her eyes were heavy with sleep she insisted she wanted to stay up.

Charlie ended up in Tessa’s lap, curled against her chest as the excited and cheerful voice from the presenter registered into the back of Tessa’s mind briefly. Her pace was different, closer to the rhythm of the beating heart below her ear and the infant fingers curling the loose thread of Scott’s sweater while he used the same motion to circle his thumb around Tessa’s shoulder.

That was how Jordan and Kate saw her when they made a video call to wish her a happy new year. Scott quickly excused himself saying he was going to fetch them the champagne so they could make a toast at midnight, but Charlie raised her head interested in what Tessa was doing and appeared into the camera field of view.

“Hey Charlie,” Tessa said softly, “this is my mom and my sister, do you want to say hi?”

“Hi” she whispered and raised her hand to wave at them.

“Hi, Charlie. I’m Kate, Tessa’s mom, it’s very nice to meet you.”

Charlie tried nodded, but her head was too heavy so she leaned back into Tessa’s shoulder, keeping her eyes at the screen. Tessa tilted the screen down so her mom and her sister could see both of them.

Jordan was very silent, watching the image unfold before her eyes. Tessa looked so relaxed and content, she thought about asking her if she was happy, but there was no need to, it was all over her face.

“Do you know those chocolate chip cookies you like?” Tessa whispered and Charlie mumbled an affirmative answer. “It’s my mom who makes them.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“Do you like them, Charlie?” Jordan was the one who asked.

“Very much Miss.” She replied, half hiding her face into Tessa’s neck.

“They are my favourite too.” Jordan smiled at the little girl. “I’m Jordan, Tessa’s sister. You can call me Jay.”

“Okay.” Charlie closed her eyes briefly and Tessa tilted the phone up again to frame only her face and Jordan saw Scott coming back to the living room, passing behind Tessa’s back.  

“We just wanted to wish you a happy new year,” Kate said, and Jordan nodded.

“Happy new year little sis, I hope you have a great one.”

“You too, bride of the year.”

Jordan smiled “I’m going to get married this year, uh?”

“Yes, you are. And I can’t wait. Pass along my wishes to my brother in law.”

“I will. Speaking of a brother in law, I’m still waiting for a detailed report by the way, of your last days. I was not convinced by half a dozen of texts.”  
Tessa looked up at Scott who was probably hearing everything while he concentrated on the task of taking off the wrap around the neck of the bottle.

“We’ll talk when I’m back.”

“You bet, sis.”

Scott took the place beside her in the low armrest of the couch and handed the bottle to his father when Tessa finished the call. From his position, he was a couple of inches taller than the usual.

“My mother and my sister said hi. And happy new year.”

“I heard.”

“And you ran away as soon as they appeared on the screen, you coward.”

“We’ll do things right once we are back to Toronto.”

“Oh really? Are you asking my mother permission to courtship her daughter?”

He chuckled. “We skipped some steps, didn’t we?”

Scott leaned down and pinched her chin to raise it up and kiss her lips right there in front of his parents and with his daughter between them, nestles on her lap. It was the first time they did such a thing and even though it was a quick kiss, she could have a taste of the warmth running in his bloodstream.

“Happy new year, Tess.”

“It’s not a new year yet.” She mumbled weakly, tightening her arms around Charlie because she suddenly was afraid her limbs would become jelly and she wouldn’t be able to hold the girl asleep on her arms. She could barely hold herself together when Scott looked at her like that.

“It is, somewhere. I’m not a patient man, Tess, I don’t want to wait until midnight to kiss my girl.”

“Your girl, uh?”

He looked down at Charlie, her long, dark lashes curled up her closed lids and her pouty mouth was slightly opened, much like when he met her at Tessa’s apartment months before, sleeping on her couch.

His daughter had then found another place where she also felt comfortable and safe to surrender herself to her dreams.  

“Yes. My girls.” He kissed Charlie’s hair and sat back, allowing Tessa to lean into his side again. His arm enveloped both of them, and his hand covered her shoulder and reached for Charlie’s hair. At that moment, Tessa was absolutely sure that his hands would always be strong enough to hold both of them and everything in between.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?
> 
> This was a really long chapter, next one will be the regular length probably. I'm getting back to my normal pace of writing gradually as I finish some personal things that have been keeping me away in the past months, so I won't say a date for the next chapter - we all know that every time I promise regular updates I never do it. But I'll try to update again soon.
> 
> I really wanted to say thanks to all of you who sent comments saying how much you appreciated this fic even with the lack of updates. You are truly the best, thank you.
> 
> Twitter: claire_smh (I'm not online as much as I used to, but I still take a look at it now and then if you want to yell at me over there)


	13. The new normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was umbetaed, all mistakes are mine.

"What are you up to?"

Tessa had the phone secured between her shoulder and her ear as she used both hands to spread butter on a slice of bread. "I'm making myself dinner, grilled cheese."

She heard the deep chuckle and smiled at herself.

"Do you know how to make anything else?" Scott asked.

"Poached eggs, I've mastered them. But I can do pasta, and rice too, and chicken breast, and boil vegetables,” she enumerated. “I just love not counting every calorie I ingest and it's quick. I'm exhausted tonight, we've spent the entire day planning and doing schedules at the rink. I think I'm going to help some novice competitor more, and the seniors too."

“Are you becoming a pro coach now, Ms Virtue?”

"I don't have much interest in a career as a coach, but for now, it feels good to help the new generation as I carry on my other projects."

"Sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now. Can you fit boyfriend-time on your schedule?"

She moved around to put the bread in the pan and heard the sizzling as soon as the butter on the outside of the wholemeal bread came in contact with the burning hot surface.

"Let me know then. I have that thing on Friday, but there's a Leafs' game coming...” she heard him saying.

"There's always a Leafs' game, we are in the middle of hockey season, Scott."

"You are dating and ex-player and die-hard fan, you better get used to it. We could watch it together. “

"Sounds good."

"Tess, someone is calling. Can I call you in a second?”

"Sure"

They hung up and Tessa turned the heat down. She used a fork press sandwich down even though she probably had a spatula somewhere.

She opted for a glass of warm milk instead of wine and added a generous spoon of drinking chocolate in it. She sat by the island in the middle of her kitchen and cut the toast in two symmetrical triangles before she took the first bite.

As soon the taste of cheese, bread and butter hit her, satisfaction and guilty registered in the same amount on her brain. Even though her diet was not that strict anymore, she was still aware of how everything she ate affected her body and her performance, not only on work but on her day to day life. She would compensate on her work out she promised herself, and then in the next week, she would go back to eating better and exercising more. She had to go back to it so she could handle the many tours she had staring on the Spring.

The phone in her hand buzzed again as she scrolled through the Instagram feed and she put Scott on the speaker this time to continue eating.

“Hey,” she said softly, cleaning the tip of her fingers on the napkin she had sat near her plate. Tessa opened her Spotify app to turn down the volume of the music playing in the background through the fancy sound system she had.

“Hey,” Scott replied, and his voice was different from before.

“Is everything ok?” She asked after gulping the chocolate milk over the last bite of one of the pieces of her toast.

"It was Ms Wright, the babysitter, her sister is sick and she’s going away to stay with her for a couple of days, she can't watch Charlie on Friday."

“Oh, I hope she gets well soon. Do you have anyone else who could babysit?”

"I'll need to call to see if anyone is available."

"What if-" She stopped for a second.  "what if she stays with me? I think it's a good opportunity for us to spend some time together."

"Are you sure?"

"I am. I can take care of her," she assured him.

"I know you can, I just don't want to take advantage of you, we are still finding our way around everything."

"Scott, I'm okay with it. Really. And I promised her we’d have the Charlie and Tessa time. “

“If you are sure, then I don’t see any problem. Thank you, Tess.”

“It’s my pleasure, you can pay me with a slice of red velvet with my coffee next week.”

His laugh was joyful and carefree. “Noted.”

Tessa had gone through the entire book her mom gave her for Christmas and all the recipes seemed too difficult even though the white title on the teal blue cover contained the word ‘easy’.

Tessa thought about Alma’s Mac ’n’ Cheese and wished she knew how to make something taste as good as that. One day. Maybe. For now, she decided it was more prudent to have pizza delivered, but her proud self still wanted to make something special for Charlie at least for dessert.

The recipe of her mother’s chocolate cookies was stuck with clear tape to the tiled wall as she searched her crisp white cabinets for the appliances needed. Tessa found out there were five different sizes of stainless-steel bowls with labels still stuck on the bottom, and she had two greys and one red silicone spatula; they still had the strong smell of plastic from the kitchen section at the store.

She went through a cooking phase when she announced her retirement a month after the Winter Olympics because it fitted in the image she had constructed for herself of a woman who would cook dinners for her friends on a Friday night and set the table with delicate china matching with silver spoons. She would also have a new bouquet of beautiful fresh flowers every week sitting on the table.

It lasted approximately as long as the one-month courtesy of the online subscription that would deliver new flowers to her house every Thursday.

Her therapist helped her to realise she was not a 50s housewife and didn’t aspire to be.

She could serve takeout food if she wanted to invite her friends over, it was ok to not cook.

But then she remembered Charlie’s smile when she ate the chocolate cookies, and she wanted to be the one that caused her smile. The ambiguity would need to be explored in another therapy session.

She used the small scale that once measured the exact grams of carrots she should have for dinner to separate the amount of chocolate chips her mom had indicated. Tessa had seen Kate doing this countless time, and never with a scale, she just assumed it was the right amount and went with it. Worked. Every. Single. Time.

It was impressive.

For her, she had put it on the paper; the two sheets of paper contained each step broken into specific instructions and measures. It was all neatly written down in her mom’s calligraphy with a small note at the bottom.

 _“Don’t panic,_  
Everything will work just fine.  
Call me if you need anything.  
Love,

_mom.”_

Her inability in the kitchen was famous among her family and friends.

But the image of everything laid on her countertop in little white pots arranged in straight lines almost made her think this would be just as good as her mom’s.

She added one by one of all the ingredients and followed the steps with the concentration and precision of a scientist. She even had the clock always on her phone by her side for when there were things like: “mix the dough for 2 minutes until the ingredients are well mixed together and you can’t see any traces of flour or egg yolks.”

Her mom made it easy for her.

When she scooped the dough and laid into the baking sheet covered in brown parchment paper, she felt victorious. It was looking really good. She had 12 cookies in each of the two trays and put them in the freezer.

Tessa looked around to the empty pots on her counter and the powdery mess on the white marble top. That was another downside of cooking, the mess. She reached for the bowl to put in the sink and out of habit, Tessa swiped her forefinger over the side and had a taste.

_Holy shit, it tastes good!_

She was so happy, she could dance around her kitchen to the sound of David Bowie's ‘Heroes’, she would add that song to the newly made playlist she had named in her head as “please don't burn down the kitchen Tessa” in contrast to the boring title on her screen: “cooking playlist”.

The cookies had stayed in the freezer overnight and she would put it in the oven at 180ºC for 15 minutes while they were eating dinner so when they finished, it would be ready.

Scott knocked at her door at 7 PM sharp, and this time Charlie was not as shy when she entered the apartment. She knew the place already and they had a completely different relationship now, on the contrary, there was a bubbling excitement emanating from her.

She was dressed in matching Nike sweats.

“She's a Nike girl, uh?”

“Just like her dad.” He grinned at her and kissed her cheek. Scott smelled fresh out of a shower, and his hair brushing the side of her face was cold, slightly damp.

“I guess I don't belong into your little group then, I'm an Adidas girl.”

“Dad can get you a hoodie like mine, Tessa. And then we can match.”

Tessa looked down at Charlotte and then back to Scott.

“She's right, I can,” he said with a shrug. “But it's ok to be different, right Charlie? We like Tessa either way.”

“Right, we like you very, very much, even if we don't match.”

Tessa chuckled, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “That's what matters.”

Scott passed the overnight bag to Tessa. It was pink and had a C embroidered in the front and the Nike brand on the back.

“There's probably everything she might need, a change of clothes, pyjamas, a toothbrush and Eve, her new sleeping buddy.”

Her Christmas present. Tessa smiled.

“If you need anything just give me a call and I'll be here as soon as possible.”

“Don’t worry, we'll be fine, won't we Charlie?”

Charlie nodded. She clutched Tessa's hand and leaned into her, the side of her head brushed her upper leg.

“I guess I'm not needed here.” Scott crouched down in front of his daughter and opened her arms to her. “Give me a goodbye kiss.”

She promptly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek with a loud smack noise.

“Bye daddy,” Charlie said.

“Bye, baby, sweet dreams,” he replied. “Be good to Tessa, ok?” Scott whispered into her ear, but Tessa could hear.

She never saw Charlie misbehaving badly, but it was probably the kind of things parents told their kids so often it becomes a habit.

Scott got up to kiss Tessa goodbye next. “Thank again.”

“No problem.” She cradled his face between his hands and kissed him once more. “Now go, you'll be late.”

“I'll take about 15 minutes to get dressed and get out.”

“Oh, the perks of being a man.” She brushed her hands alongside the opened zipper of his nylon jacket and patted his chest lightly. “Don't look too handsome, I won't be near to shoo the competition.”

"I'm taken."

"Good, keep that in mind."

Tessa forced him out of the door, not before Scott gave Tessa and Charlie another kiss. He would love to spend the night with them, at home, eating pizza and doing nothing together.

When she closed the door behind her, Tessa turned to Charlie; that night was all hers.

She left her shoes by the door and Tessa put her coat on the hook that had become hers naturally.

“You'll sleep in my room with me, ok?” She had no spare bedroom because she had conveyed the two extra rooms into an office and reading room, and a closet.

“Ok,” the excitement made her voice produce a high pitch tone.

Charlie followed her around like a little shadow, observing, and waiting for what she should do next.

The overnight bag was set on the chair in a corner of her room. It was a bright spot of pink in the middle of the coordinated tones of grey and the white furniture; quite a statement.

"First things first. I promised you we'd have pizza. Last order it." she patted the cushioned seat by the foot of her bed and Charlie lifted herself easily to sit with her. Tessa tapped away until she opened the page to make the order. "What do you want?” Tessa asked Charlie.

“Pepperoni! With cheese.”

“Good choice."

She selected the flavour and pondered about what she wanted to have. Tessa wasted two minutes looking through all the flavour to choose the usual. "I'll have Margherita.”

“I like Margherita,” she added quickly.

“Then you can eat from mine," Tessa told her with a wink.

“I'll share my pepperoni pizza with you too.”

“Thank you, darling." She smiled gently.

Sometimes Charlie was so eager to please and fit in; she hoped it was just a phase and with time, she would become more confident in what she chose for herself by heart.

Tessa helped her out of the seat, and they exited her room. Her eyes would wander around the corridors, the colourful pictures on the pale walls. It was so different from her home; her dad didn't put any pictures around besides their photos.

“What do you do with your dad on Fridays?” Tessa laid a light hand on her shoulder when she asked a second time to get Charlie's attention. The girls turned her face around in a jolt, looking almost guilt for being distracted and Tessa's touch became a small caress. _Don't worry, it's fine, look all you want,_ she said with a downy look.

“If we are home, we watch a movie. Or hockey if it's hockey night," Charlie thought out loud. "If I'm with Matt, we play in his room. He has lots of cars and he always let me pick the ones I want to play with.”

Tessa remembered Scott told her that he would let her watch TV until 9 o'clock maximum and her bedtime was around 9:30. She kept that information pinned to her brain in capital letters. She was slightly terrified of doing anything wrong, even though this was Charlie, probably the easiest kid in the world to take care of.

She didn't have cars, or games to play with her. A deck of cards probably didn't count. Tessa went with the movie option. And Charlie chose The Lion King that night, surprisingly. She was expecting Frozen or a princess movie. It's been ages since the last time she watched it.

When the pizza arrived, Tessa broke her own rule and cleaned the books and magazines on the coffee table so they could sit on the floor and eat there. The cookies were in the oven and the timer was set. Her mother had said to bake it for 15 to 20 minutes - she stuck with 15 minutes, just for precaution.  

"It is good?" Tessa asked Charlie when she went for the second slice of pizza. She nodded.

Charlie picked the slice with the tips of her fingers, trying to avoid the grease and tomato sauce. She was a neat freak, Tessa remembered what Scott once had told her.

"Here," she handed Charlie the extra napkin she had picked for herself. She had grown the ability to notice those small things and somehow understand what she needed even when something in her stopped her for asking.

"Thank you." She said.

"You're welcome, dear."

She wanted to squeeze her all the time, Charlie was too cute for her own good.

"I'll get more napkins."

The minute she stepped past the counter dividing the living room from the kitchen she felt the strong burnt smell and cursed loudly, forgetting the small ears in a short distance.

She turned off the oven at once and opened the door; a light grey smoke mixed with steam carried the bad smell out.

"Shit, shit, shit."

She reached for the closest tea towel she could find and took the tray from the lower rack out first.

There was a gradient of black to brown, and all of them looked like they belong to the trash. She picked one, the least ugly one, blowing it cold as the passed from one hand to another until she was able to hold it with the tips of her finger.

And it tasted just as bitter as it looked.

_Great!_

Tessa looked over to where Charlie was focussed on the TV, oblivious to the mess she had made.

If she smelled the burnt cookies, she didn't react to it.

 _Don’t panic_ , she remembered her mom’s words.

The ones on the back of the higher rack weren't so bad, maybe if she scraped the bottom with a knife, the taste wouldn't be awful.

She managed to save only half a dozen who were doable. It didn't taste bad, but it was not her mom's cookies.

Tessa transferred them to a plate and scrapped the rest to the trash bin harshly.

It looked so good! What the hell had gone wrong? Suddenly she wished she hadn't told Charlie too many times that they would have cookies later.

To Tessa's luck, a sweet treat was the only thing Charlie wasn't shy to ask for once she was done with the pizza.

The plate of cookies sat between Charlie and Tessa on the Couch. When Tessa picked one, so did her. The movie was still playing, and the pair of hazel's eyes were glued to the screen.

From her peripheral view, she watched Charlies reaction. But there was none, neither good or bad.

She wasn't going to ask if liked it, much less if she preferred hers or her mom's. She didn't want to know.  

\-----

Charlie was constantly rubbing her eyes and squinting a little when she looked at the TV, Tessa noticed.

“Hey, is everything ok?”

She shook her head. “My eyes are itching,” she said, and Tessa grew a little worried. It was probably nothing, but...

“Maybe there’s something in your eye, can I take a look?”

Charlie raised her chin up to Tessa and opened her hazel eyes as much as she could. Very gently, Tessa took a closer look and didn’t see a thing, there was only a single eyelash sitting below her eye, probably from the constant rubbing.

“It’s everything ok, there is only one eyelash here.” She picked the tiny hair on the tip of her index finger and Charlie look at it, curious.

“Do you know that when an eyelash falls, you put on your finger and tell the person to press it and make a wish; the one who gets it when we separate our fingers will get their wish.”

“Can we do it?”

“Sure. Press your index finger against mine,” Tessa told her, and Charlie gently set the small tip of her finger on top of hers. “Now press it really hard with your eyes closed and make a wish. I’ll do it too.”

Tessa shut her eyes first.

She asked that Charlie's wish would become true.

Charlie squeezed her eyes shut, her small forehead had little creases right in the middle and she puckered her lips involuntarily, Tessa caught a glimpse her before the children’s eyes opened for her.

“All done?”

“Yep.”

“Great, now you can take your finger off, let’s see whose wish is going to become reality.” Tessa winked at her and Charlie looked down to lift her finger carefully.

“I got it!” She cheered

“Well done! Now one last thing, you can’t tell your wish to anyone, otherwise, it won’t happen, ok?”

“Ok.”

Tessa smiled at her and looked at the forgotten TV. “I think we’ve seen enough TV for today, do you like books, right? I can show you where I keep mine and you can pick one to read before bed, what do you think?”

Charlie stopped and thought briefly. “Can I have more cookies?”

“Did you like them?” Tessa asked, truly surprised and received a nod in response. Why did it make her feel so cheerful that she might laugh out loud?

“You can have one more” She raised one finger and Charlie pouted, Tessa then showed a second finger. “Two. You can have two.”

Tessa had watched Charlie eating, with a silly grin on her face.

They changed into pyjamas and went to the bathroom to brush their teeth before a bedtime story. She hoped she would fall asleep soon since they were on the verge of her bedtime. Charlie watched every move Tessa made and copied. It was cute, but somehow alarming because there was a little person who looked up at her more and more each day.

It was not only the image of a role model that Tessa Virtue had created, and people saw from time to time at public affairs. It was this sweet little girl who was moulding herself every day by the people who were part of her life.

In her age, little Tessa looked up at her older sister and her mother, she learned from them everything she knew, they were her reference. Charlie didn't have an older sister or a mother. She had a reference in the women of her family and Matt's mom, and now she was becoming one too.

Indeed, that responsibility was terrifying.

“All done?” Tessa asked, trying to focus at the moment and leave those thoughts for when Charlie was asleep.

“Yes.” She smiled widely and there was still a bit of toothpaste on the corner of her mouth.

“Just let me…” Tessa ran her thumb under the water and cleaned the white stain. “Now it's done “

She dried her hand on the towel before picking her up to sat her on the ground. Tessa was sure she could have done it by herself, but Charlie didn't complain. She liked the attention and being taken care of.

Hand in hand, they walked along the semi-dark corridor until the across from the living room. When she turned the lights on, the office mixed with a reading room presented itself to Charlie like an entirely new world. 

The room was her safe place. She had put there her favourite books, her favourite quotes on the walls. There was a tea pink chaise on a small space delimited by two walls against the window; it fitted perfectly the piece that once belonged to her grandmother.

All the surroundings were built to praise that single furniture. The materialisation of a hug from her memory that would always embrace her with the soft smell of lavender oil her grandma used until her last day. It all had started with her and the books stained by the time that now belonged to her. Her grandmother loved poetry and a sweet love story. She was a romantic through and through; and she passed it on to Tessa.

She once taught Tessa to have faith in love, and even though she tended to forget it sometimes, one look at the frame above her working desk was enough to warm her heart even if just for the duration of seeing the poem inscribed in her handwriting.  
  
"It is pink in here."

"It is." Tessa watched Charlie's marvelled look sweeping over the white shelves covered in books against the blush shade of pink. Inside the little world she had created there, Freud lived just across from Keats and Jane Austen would be a neighbour to Stephen King too.

But the closest that she had to a Children's book on her collection was an illustrated special edition of The Little Prince,

They spend more times looking at the pictures of the book than reading itself. Charlie traced the pictures with her fingers, reading with her touch, memorising the colours and the texture of brush strokes. Tessa told her the story by heart, simplifying some of the very complex metaphors that book contained.

The girl by her side listened carefully, commented when she had something to say and let the words carry her to this new universe she was being introduced to. She liked it, but she loved how gentle and even Tessa's voice sounded. It was very different from her father's who tended to be very enthusiastic about Dr Seuss characters. He had a voice for each one of them. The arm around her shoulders holding the book in front of them was not as broad as her father's' Tessa was soft. She found herself missing the comfort of her arms sometimes, her smell too.

She nuzzled the flannel fabric covering her chest, where she laid her head; the tip of her nose barely moved. Tessa wouldn't notice, she thought to herself, but it was enough to awake the memory she had.

Her perfume had colour, of a warm morning. And it felt like one of those days her father would let her sleep until late and she would wake up with the light coming from her window because he forgot to close curtains completely again. But she didn't mind; she loved the feeling of a ray of sunlight touching her skin, awakening from her dreams. If it was a good dream, she liked to think the light was like fairy dust from Sleepy Beauty, telling her it would become true. But if it was a bad one, it would cut through the darkness and push the bad far away from her.

For some reason, Tessa's scent was just like that.

Her shoulders folded themselves inward, closer and closer to Tessa's body, and she felt the arm around her hold tighter. Her voice had stopped, but it was late, and she was too far away to ask Tessa to continue telling her about the little prince and his tiny planet.

Charlie wrapped her little arms around Eve, and the comfort of the known buddy would help her feel safe if she woke up in a strange place, Tessa hoped. 

"Sweet dreams, darling," she whispered, kissing her goodnight.

 

* * *

 

 

He used to be good at those functions and walk around with ease. He used to know everyone and want to be known by everyone.

But not anymore.

The expensive wine swinging around in abundance tasted too bitter to his taste, and the flashing lights from the stage with the band was annoying.

To be fair, the food was great, and he was glad he came and made his part supporting a cause he was fond of. The money they paid that night would serve to help funding school programs that would bring children closer to music, arts and sport.

Most of his causes he would help anonymously, but he recognised that being there, delivering a speech had an appeal and people would go there to see him as part of the package of entertainment.

Everything had a good and bad side; the downside was that he could be home with Charlie and Tessa.

The corners of the phone in his hand constantly rubbed on the side of his trousers as he rotated the device continuously between his thumb and forefinger.

Scott wanted to call Tessa, just to know how things were going, if Charlie was good to her. But he restrained himself. He didn't want her to think that he was second-guessing her abilities to take care of Charlie, it had nothing to do with that. He just wanted to talk to her.

"Who are you hiding from?" Scott saw Chiddy approaching, shouting above the loud music. The band was good but very, very loud.

"No one, I'm calculating what's the quickest escape route," he joked. Kind of.

"You used to be more sociable."

"That ended five years and three months ago,"

"Bullshit," Patrick called him out. “There’s a rumour going around that you and Tessa Virtue are a thing now. Would that be the real reason?"

"Maybe?"

He shook his head, grinning full of humour. "You have no idea how hilarious it is."

"Yeah, yeah, Sochi Scott was a douche, we know."

"Why she isn't here?"

"We are keeping it to ourselves for now. And Charlie is with her tonight."

"If Charlie likes her, then I trust you chose it right."

"She adores her."

Patrick patted his shoulder. "That's great. I'm really happy for you and Tessa."

"Thanks, man."

Scott posted a picture of him and Chiddy on his Instagram stories, maybe if she was still up, she would reply. Tessa always replied to his social media posts in private.

He barely had time to tuck the phone back into his pocket when a notification made it buzz in his hand.

 **@tessavirtue:** well done with the tags, you're getting good in this.

He laughed under his breath and a second buzz came right after.

 **@tessavirtue:** say 'hi' to chiddy for me.

 **@scottmoir:** I'll. Is everything ok there?

 **@tessavirtue:** yep. Charlie is sleeping already. We respect the bedtime hour in this house

 **@scottmoir:** Good, because we often don't in the Moir household on fridays

 **@tessavirtue:** then why did you tell she should be in bed by 9:30?

 **@scottmoir:** because that's the time she *should* be in bed. We try

 **@tessavirtue:** 🙄

 **@tessavirtue:** what are you doing on instagram? Aren't you in the middle of a party?

 **@scottmoir:** I am. For one more hour or so. Then I'll go back to my empty home, spend the night alone.

 **@tessavirtue:** Poor boy

 **@tessavirtue:** Come over, then. My bedtime is still a couple of hours away

 **@scottmoir:** I'll be leaving in 30 min

He knew he had made the right decision coming to her the second her hands cradled his face and her lips meet his.

"I told you to not look too handsome." she murmured and felt the smile against her lips.

The thick, plaid flannel PJs softened the way his finger dug into her waist to bring her body closer; Scott rubbed his nose to the side of her face. "I did my best."

Tessa leaned back to take a better look at him.

The shiny coat of gel was not too much, and she ran her hand over his dark hair, following the natural shape combed to the back. His face was clean, recently shaved, making the contours of his chin and jawline pop.

Her gaze traced the sharp lines of the dark suit outlining his shoulders and her thumb inspected the well-done knot on the black tie still clinging around his neck; she gave it a light tug, making his face drop a couple of inches closer to hers.

"Try harder next time," she told him, with one last kiss before she pulled him into her apartment.

Tessa gave him the full report of what she and Charlie had done. He let her speak and encouraged further details because he loved to hear the sound of her voice and get a glimpse of the night they had.

She opened the door to her room letting the smallest amount of light in, only the sufficient to trace the contour of the sleeping girl clutching her teddy bear in the middle of Tessa's queen-size bed. He walked to her in complete silence while Tessa waited by the door, watching them. Scott sat on the edge of her bed, holding his weight of the mattress to not make any motion that could disturb her sleep. The hand that caressed her had a touch of reverence and the soft kiss on the shoulder poking out of the blanket was an act of the purest love.

Scott didn't do it to show her anything - she was probably too far gone into her sleep. He did it for himself mostly. To placate his need to be with her.

Tessa considered herself lucky, she was one of the persons to witness that precious bond.

Back to the kitchen, she had dimmed the lights around the house, and there were only the four decorative pendant lights on, placed right above the centre island.

Scott wandered in after Tessa; eager to feel more comfortable, he took off his suit jacket. If he was home, he would throw it anywhere without even thinking about it, but seeing Tessa’s house, and everything so neat and organised, he didn’t want to be the one to disturb her carefully crafted environment. Scott laid the jacket on the back of the nearest stool around the marble top, and his tie came out next. He scrunched the fabric in his hand to tuck in the pocket of his pants.

Tessa retrieved a bottle of wine from the small wine cellar near the fridge, her eyes swiped over the oven to her right and grimaced for a second. Her mom had told her the oven was probably hotter than hers when they exchanged a couple of messages earlier. How was she supposed to know that?

"I hope Charlie didn't give you any trouble,” she heard Scott behind her back and turned around. Hopefully, he wouldn’t feel the smell of burnt.

"Of course not, we had a great time,” she assured him.

When she sat the bottle on the counter to reach for the wine opener, he came behind her placing his two hands on her shoulders. "I'm not paying for a babysitter ever again," he said, playful.

"I don't mind," Tessa said.

She gave a weak shrug when the weight of his touch slid down her upper arms and his lips trailed a similar path on the side of her neck.

"But then-" her voice came out a little choked as she tried to concentrate on her task of opening the wine bottle. “But then, there won't be any grown-up dates and after date activities."

"Why do you think parents are so kin about early bedtime?"

She spun around to face him with the cork in her hand. "Don't even think about that," Tessa spoke at once. "Charlie is sleeping in the other room."

His daughter was a heavy sleeper, but Tessa was right, they shouldn't risk it. He was absolutely terrified of Charlie ever catching him in any sort of PG +16 activity and he managed to avoid it for the last 5 years; he hoped to maintain his streak forever.

"I know. That doesn't mean I can't kiss you. And touch you."

Just to prove his point, he kissed her. It was the kind of kiss that made her skin tingle and her breath become uneven, and it wasn’t enough. He touched her, his finger caressed up the heated skin under the flannel shirt, and she wondered in the back of her mind show a touch so gentle could echo all the way through her core.

"But it's your house, your rules." He gave half a step back and dropped his hands.

Tessa squinted her eyes to the cocky smile on his lips "I doubt you have enough self-control," she challenged him.

Scott shrugged. “I’ve had self-control for almost four mouths, one night is nothing.” He got the wine glass she had filled, brushing his arm to hers to take a large gulp. She was not the only one who got thirsty by the smallest exchange between them

Tessa chuckled and patted the side of his thighs when she walked to the cabinet across from them. "Do you want a glass? There's beer in the fridge too.

"Beer, please. I've enough wine for a whole month."

She got one from the fridge and handed to him after opening the bottle.

“Thanks.”

He was taking the first gulp when she pulled a larger compartment hiding the trash bin to discard the lids and plastic wrap sitting on the counter from her wine. He looked down discreetly as his chin went up and he saw the burnt cookies in there.

 _Oh Tess_.

She was really excited that her cooking experience was going well this time. It was a shame that she burnt it.

"How was the party?" She asked, and his gaze rested on her face again.

"Nice, the food was really good, and I think they could raise some good money. Chiddy said 'hi' back, by the way."

"Oh, thanks. We should see each other in a couple of things next month, and then there's Stars on Ice."

"He mentioned it." Scott followed her to the couch and looked at the TV. "Are you still watching The Lion King?"

"I like this movie, it started playing again on its own." She pressed play again and the volume was very low to not disturb Charlie. “Do you want to watch something else?”

"Nah, that’s fine,” he told her and dropped one arm around her shoulder; Tessa snuggled into him, folding her legs up between them. “Of all the Disney movies, this is probably my favourite. I like Toy Story too, it's Matt's favourite."

"I loved Little Mermaid when I was a kid, I always wanted to have red hair because of Ariel. And I finally painted red when I was about 20, some late rebel phase."

Scott looked at her, and she still was focussed on the scene between Simba and Nala.

"I can't imagine you with a red hair," he said, thoughtful.

He touched her hair with the hand resting around her, his fingers slid until the end, feeling how soft it was. Her natural hair colour suited her so well, beautiful just like it was.

"I must have a picture here somewhere; do you wanna see?"

“Show me.” He was really curious

Tessa pulled her computer from the coffee table and opened it between them. Her background was a landscape picture, he guessed it was from the place in France she had told him about.

When she clicked away, folder by folder, her files were as neat as her apartment, named in a perfect system. Scott smiled to himself, squeezing her shoulder to his chest while he looked at her screen.

"Here."

The image of Tessa in a shorter, red hair popped up on her screen. Her sister was on one side and another girl by her other side, they smiled to whoever was taking the photo with red lips matching the maple leaf drawn on their cheeks. Red everywhere.

"It was Canada day," she explained. “That is a friend of Jordan’s from law school.”

"You look really cute. I'd have you been on my radar easily if I knew you then."

She rolled her eyes to him and clicked to go to the next picture. Tessa told him about little moments in photos, and a couple of her friends that were recurring in them. He learned that Allie and Katarina were her best friends and they met in Vancouver, and they were with her in Sochi do there was a great possibility that Scott wasn’t their favourite person.

“Kat _shipped_ us,” she quoted the word in the air. “She wanted to play matchmaker that night.”

“I have a chance with her them.”

“Allie might be a little more difficult, just saying.”

“I’ll manage,” he said with conviction.

There was one picture that didn’t belong in there, an old, scanned picture of Tessa, Jordan and their parents. He expected her to skip that and move on back to telling him about her time in the US, away from home. But Tessa stopped and her finger froze on the arrow key. Scott heard the questioning in her head when her words faded, but he waited.

"I was about five in this picture, Jordan was eight, this is my father, Jim,” Tessa opened up after the pause.

“How old were you when they got divorced?” His voice was gentle, interested, but even.

“I was about 9 or 10. It wasn't really a big change because he spent a lot of time away from home. He was a lawyer too. Well, he is,” she corrected herself.

Even though he wasn't part of her life anymore, he still lived and worked in the US as far as she knew.

“Mom and he met during uni and married right after they graduated. Mom was his partner in the law firm they had until Jordan was born. Then she decided to stay home. Money was not a problem, in fact, he had become a partner in a new business in the US by the time I was born. When I was a kid, I thought they separated because of the constant travelling and they had grown apart.”

She closed the computer and put on the table, picking her wine glass instead. Tessa took small, calculated sips, and Scott watched her. She sat back crossed-leg on the sofa, her body turned to him.

“Mom went back to work because she didn’t want his money, he paid the child benefit for me and Jordan regularly, but that was all that mom was willing to take. The Law firm became only hers in the divorce settlement and though it pained her a lot to keep the Virtue surname, she did it for business purposes. My grandma - my father’s mother - also asked her to. She loved mom and always helped a lot with us so mom could work. My two grandmas did.”

“What was her name?” Scott asked. He had kept his arm on the back of the coach and started to run his thumb over her shoulder at some point.

“Margaret,“ she replied. “She was the one who took me to my classes at the rink.” Just like Alma had done to Charlie that first day.

Scott smiled, he was glad Tessa had her. “I know the feeling; my grandfather Mac was my number one supporter when it came to hockey.”

The one who named Charlie, Tessa remembered.

She finished the wine and kept the glass in her hands, on top of her legs, her fingers moved constantly over the rim of the glass as she unscrambled the last batch of words in her head.

“I discovered later that he cheated on my mom during many years; he kept two families, one here in Canada and another in the States, he was lucky it was the 90s and it was easier to cover his tracks without internet.”

He felt for the image of little Tessa he had just come to know through the picture. And felt for the woman before him who still carried some resentment in her words.

“That's a lot.” Scott said, and when she leaned further into him, he continued: “I'm sorry you had to go through it, Tess.”

“Mom and Jordan always felt like they needed to spare me the ugly details. When I found out the whole story, I was older - it was the red hair phase, and if it wasn't for skating, I don't know how I'd have dealt with it. I had something to focus on and I gave 150% of myself to it."

“It’s still a lot.” Scott picked the glass on her hand and sat on the ground, near his empty bottle of beer. She curled into him, nestled in his arms; so small and so strong.

He understood now why she didn’t trust easily, and why her perspective was different from his when it came to relationships. And most of all, he knew that Tessa would understand Charlie in a level that he would never be able to. He was lucky enough to have his two doting parents always with him.

“Can I ask you something?” Scott said and she nodded. “Did he ever tried to reconnect with you?”

“He did, once or twice. But it’s very strange for a kid to build a relationship with someone that it’s an abstract concept. I knew I had a father, but within time the few memories I had of him started to fade away. Suddenly I didn’t miss him anymore. And to this day, I don’t,” Tessa explained to him. “I miss the idea of having a father figure. My mother never remarried and there was this gap in my life of a fatherly figure.”

Maybe that was why she was so amused by Scott and Charlie’s relationship. She admired their love so much. And it made her wonder sometimes how it would be, to have a father like Scott was to Charlie.

“He sent me a card and flowers when I came back from my last Olympics, I think it was his way of saying he was watching, rooting maybe?” She shrugged.

Tessa never told that story in so many details to anyone other than her therapist. But she wanted him to know it, it was a vote of confidence as much it was her way to share something no one knew as he had shared some of his story with Charlie’s mother.

“We didn’t seek each other after I confronted him about everything. I’ve heard the full story from mom’s point of view.” The words came out of their own, she sounded almost a bit tired.“ He has other two sons with this wife. It hurts because Jordan and I are his flesh and blood too and he still chose them. But I’ve learned to live with it."

She looked at him at the end, and his gaze was on her. Scott pinched her chin up. “Thank you for sharing this with me,” he said tenderly.

Her trembling breath ticked his knuckles and his palms came to rest on the sides of her neck. The tip of his thumbs slid over her jawline.

His look set her off a bit because she saw something in there that was new to her. Something gentle, and powerful, a sort of wonder and respect.

He was in love with Tessa Virtue, he realised.

Love itself was still a strange concept because he could only place his daughter and his family in his heart. But he recognised the fire, and the need burning deep in him. The need to know everything about her, to share secrets with her and take care of her. The need to touch her and memorise every magnificent edge to create the image of her in his head for when distance kept her away from his eyes.

She might not be always by his side, but Tessa and everything he felt about her was now part of him just as much as the beating heart he heard pulsing in his ears when her eyes fluttered closed and her lips curled in a quiet smile.

He could kiss those lips until the morning easily, and he would.

The darkness in the room embraced them in the warmth of reclusion, and the weak flashing light of the credits rolling in the TV opposite to them, outlined the contours of their profiles merged in one. Loving and gentle, his lips moved over hers, finding their way into the taste of her heat. His arms curled around her, and his biceps enclosed her shoulder in a strong cage. One which Tessa never wanted to be freed from.

Her hands were pressed between their bodies; under her palms, she felt his heart beating, galloping, pushing her own heartbeat hitting the back of her hand.

 

* * *

 

Her bed was suddenly not only hers anymore; Tessa ran her finger over her dark, messy waves in a soft caress and Charlie sighed deeply. Tessa quickly retrieved her hand, froze mid-air, and her breath stilled.

The little grill snuggled further into Tessa's shoulder and she smiled in response.

She waited a little longer, watching Charlie sleep before she carefully got up, and gathered Eve lost between them so she could snuggle into something. she fixed the covers around her little body and dropped a soft kiss on her hair.

Tessa always thought her couch was massive until she saw Scott's tall body sprawled over there and his bended knee poked out of the seat under the rumpled blanket.

The resemblance with Charlie when they were both sleeping was striking; the mouth was just the same as the shape of his chin and the soft creases between their eyebrows matched too. She had noticed it before when she saw them focusing on something.

He agreed to stay over but insisted to take the couch since he said her bed could be a little too small for the three of them. The shirt he was wearing was one of many she bought to herself in the masculine section to sleep, it fitted him just barely, clutching his biceps and the outlined muscles.

Tessa rose the blanket just enough to fit in the tiny space between his body and the edge of the seat.

“Hm,” he rubbed his nose on the back of her head and pulled her closer to his body. “Morning”

“Good morning”

“Charlie is still asleep?” he mumbled with his eyes still closed

He felt Tessa nodding, her fingers slipped between his over her stomach, and he moved his legs to fit hers, tangling her thighs between his.

“We should get up and make breakfast.”

“We should.” Scott agreed but didn't move. He kissed behind her ear and Tessa closed her eyes again, just for a little longer.

‘A little longer’ had become one more hour until they got up and Scott helped her to organise her living room before they could have breakfast. Charlie was still sleeping and it was Saturday, there was no point in waking her up early.

“Where do you keep the mugs?”

“In the cabinet over your head,” Tessa replied absently, typing a reply to a nice comment in one of her pictures. She taped send and put the phone down; her eyes moved up to watch him.

The image of Scott Moir moving around in her kitchen barefoot and with a t-shirt that had nothing to do with the pair of suit trousers he wore, would become a fond memory. She got distracted easily and took a while to notice he was about to open the wrong door.

“Not this one!” She exclaimed.

Too late, he already saw what was inside.

Tessa looked down, hiding her face behind her hand. “You have a quite impressive stock of green tea here, Ms Virtue,” she heard the mocking tone in his voice.

She looked up at him slowly. He was inspecting a small blue and yellow box with Chinese writing and a label stuck on top with the instructions translated.

“I've spent a lot of time in Asia over the years, I get lots of gifts,” she tried.

"Sure." He turned around to grab another in particular, shaking the paper box before her eyes, "this brand is very Canadian to me.”

“I never said I didn't like green tea. I quite enjoy it. On some occasions."

He put away the tea and moved around to lean over the countertop. Scott supported his chin on one hand and continued staring. “So that day I brought you tea do the rink, you are just not in the mood?”

“I'm still a coffee girl."

His lips were pressed together while he nodded.

"Stop it."

He laughed out loud and planted a noisy kiss on her lips. “You got caught, Tess.”

“Guess I did,” she mumbled.

"I'm in the mood for green tea, I think it's one of those occasions."

Tessa rolled her eyes to him.

He leaned further to peck her lips. “And I don't think you're a coffee girl, by the way, I'd say you're a hot chocolate girl."

"With a shot of caramel syrup," she smiled.

"Indeed."

 

* * *

 

Once Tessa saw Scott, she grinned openly with her eyes even when the curve of her lips was very subtle. Lauren noticed the small change and turned around to see who caused it.

“Of course,” she said.

He had Charlie’s pink backpack on one shoulder and held her skates, on his other hand was the support with two coffees to go. Charlie had stopped where Tracy was with her mom and didn't follow her father. He noticed and greeted Tracy's mother politely before he continued to Tessa.

“Good afternoon, Mr Moir.” Lauren greeted him and he replied politely. “I’m going to find myself something to do away from here. See you later, Tess.”

“Hello, Mr Moir. I’m glad to see you’re back.” Tessa said, masking her smile to match the plain tone she used on purpose, she felt so light and playful lately. She tilted her chin up, pointing to the coffees. “Do I get coffee today, or tea?”

“I thought you’d like your almond milk cappuccino this afternoon, Ms Virtue.” He raised the cup with her name on it and passed to her awaiting hand. He kissed her cheek and she kissed his back, lingering a bit.

“You have been more creative before,” Tessa raised an eyebrow at him, taking a sip from the paper cup.

“We were late, Charlie wanted her new skates, but we didn’t finish unpacking everything yet, and things are a little messy right now.” Scott rubbed the back of his head with a crooked smile on his lips.

Tessa laughed under her breath. “It’s fine," she said, raising her cup. "this is great, thank you.”

She would have easily leaned forward and given him a kiss on the lips, but she was aware of the many pairs of eyes around them, watching their interaction closely and not so discreetly.

Scott took the seat right next to her and put Charlie's backpack on the ground between his legs. He drank the strong, black coffee from his cup, and turned around to look at where Charlie was sitting, with her head joined with Tracy’s.

They kicked their feet under the seat in synchronicity and shared little secrets about the time they had been away during the holidays. Tessa noticed how the golden hair of Charlie's inseparable friend was longer, secured in a full braid now, Charlie said she was Anna and Tracy was Elsa from Frozen and they looked just as close as the two sisters.

“Can you believe she said she needed privacy to talk to her friend? Because they couldn't talk during school.” His little girl was just a baby, she shouldn't be asking for privacy to her father.

“That's cute. She just wants to tell her friend about her holiday. Don't stress yourself worrying about it now, leave it for when she asks for privacy to talk with a boyfriend in 10 years’ time.”

“I'll never be ready for it.” He shuddered visibly

Tessa felt him stiffened when she bumped shoulders with him lightly then laid a hand on Scott’s knee. “I’m going ahead to help set up the activities.”

He slid his finger in between hers, nestling her small hand inside his. She clutched his finger with her knuckles, using his leg to support her weight and get up just to keep touching him longer.

"Charlie, baby, come put your skates on, your class is about to start," Scott called her and Tessa waited to give her a proper hello

“Hi, Tess.” She said cheerfully, puckering her lips to get a kiss. The woman dipped her head low, turning her cheek to Charlie. And giving a kiss back right after.

“Hi there, sweet girl."

It felt so good to be back to the rink, to the kids and her routine.

When she stepped back in the ice, she felt so light that she barely noticed the newly sharpened blades scraping the ice.

Everything was just like before. But better, oh, so much better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> Thank you so much for all your comments and the "welcome back"! it feels really good be back to this fic indeed. 
> 
> I managed to jump from a 3-months wait between updates, to 3 weeks. Maybe I can shorten it to one week? Let's hope so. 
> 
> Let me know what you think about this fluff fest, I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> twitter: claire_smh


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